Displacement
by Drake Clawfang
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha leap down the well into the past, but end up in Ancient China well before the Sengoku Jidai. Now Kagome has caught the lustful eye of Lord Ying Zheng, future First Emperor of China, while Inuyasha comes face to face with his own father
1. Yaoguai!

**BLANKET NOTE**

**This fiction is based partially on real-historical data. I did a great deal of research to attempt to make the culture depicted here genuine. However, not _everything_ in this story is 100% fact. Some historical errors are made due to artistic license to fit the facts with the story. Other errors are due to my own faulty research: in some instances, I'm just plain wrong, I admit that I made mistakes. In general, some of the data I give is truthful, but don't take everything I say as fact.  
**

**There are also minor spelling and grammar errors, but none that disrupt the flow of the story in any large fashion.  
**

Displacement

Chapter 1

"Yaoguai!"

_"The anomaly will be visible all throughout China, Russia, Korea, Japan and Mongolia. Scientists say this unique spectrum of auroras is the first seen since the birth of modern science, and will last for three weeks. It has been an estimated two millennia since they were first viewed and scientists predict they may be visible again near the turn of the century in the third millennia. The color patterns expected include…a touchdown! The Saginaw Spirits win, 13-9! This game today was brought to you by…"_

"Hey, turn it back!" Kagome protested, snapping her head up from her notebook. Inuyasha ignored her and kept flipping channels.

"You done yet?" he yawned, propping his head on his hand. Kagome grabbed the remote and turned the Discovery Channel back on.

"I need to watch this for my science class, my teacher wants a report on auroras," she explained, tuning back into the program. "It'll be done in a few minutes, keep yourself busy or something," she scolded. Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms, trying to make sense of the program. Something about magnetic fields and solar winds…

"Alright, I'm done, we can go," Kagome huffed, closing her book.

"It's about time. Naraku isn't sitting around doing nothing," Inuyasha grumbled. He grabbed Kagome's backpack from beside the couch and swept an arm over the table, pushing her notes and books into the pack. "Alright, let's go," he said. Kagome rolled her eyes and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a plastic bag filled with ramen and other instant foods for her friends, and headed for the door, pulling on her shoes.

"Bye Mom!" she called up the steps as Inuyasha pulled her out the door. "Yeesh, no need to be so pushy," Kagome muttered. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and slid open the door to the well house. Behind them, the sun was ready to begin setting in the late afternoon.

"Alright, let's go," Inuyasha said, wrapping an arm around Kagome's waist and leaping into the Bone-Eater Well. Kagome sighed and not for the first time wondered if she would be able to come back this time. With so few shards of the jewel left, Naraku's bids for power were becoming ever more dangerous. Kouga had given his to Kagome, and Kohaku was in Sesshomaru's care. The two around her neck may have been all that were left…

The blue glow of the time portal opened beneath them, and Kagome felt a twitch of energy from the Shikon shards around her neck. Suddenly, the blue glow turned bright green. Kagome's eyes went wide.

"Inuyasha?" she asked nervously. The claw around her waist tightened in response, and Kagome clenched her eyes shut. As Inuyasha kept watching, the green glow sparked and flashed into red. Kagome screamed and went limp in his arms. Then, everything went black as a jolt of power shot up from the vortex below. Inuyasha's head slumped forward as the two tumbled through time.

* * *

Kagome felt cold, hard dirt under her face as she woke up. She turned and gasped as she discovered everything hurt. She winced and pushed herself up. She looked up at the sky overhead.

"What was that?" she murmured. She slowly climbed to her feet and looked around for the familiar vines to climb up, but there were none. "Inuyasha?" she called. There was a groan, and Kagome jumped at the sound. Inuyasha got up from beside her and rubbed his head.

"You alright, Kagome?" he asked.

"I think so…what was that?" she replied. Inuyasha opened his mouth to answer, and froze. He sniffed the air several times and growled. "What is it?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha grabbed the back of her collar and leapt up out of the well. The second they cleared the wooden walls, Kagome's eyes went wide.

A lavish courtyard filled with flowering cherry blossoms and other lovely trees and flowers met her sight. A small river was being turned by a man in a dirty grey tunic operating a paddlewheel, the river circling what seemed to be a beautiful garden. The night sky above was ablaze in red and green light. A great castle surrounded the garden, torches hung from the gates at either end of the garden and hanging from curved poles in the ground. Kagome looked around the garden and the surrounding castle and licked her suddenly dry lips.

"Where are we?" she whispered. Inuyasha slowly shook his head beside her, just as shocked.

"I don't know, all the scents are different, nothing's right," he replied. Suddenly, there was a cry, and Inuyasha's hand snapped to the handle of Tetsusaiga. Two men were running towards them from the gates. Crude iron armor covered their bodies, the metal sheets bounded by leather strips. They each carried a long, iron shaft nearly twice the length of their bodies with a broad speadhead at the tip that had a curved blade emerging from the side. The two soldiers came to a halt a few feet from them and pointed their blades at the pair.

"You have got to be kidding me," Inuyasha smirked, drawing Tetsusaiga. The giant fang transformed in a flash of light, and the guards gasped.

"Yaoguai! Yaoguai!" one of them shrieked. Kagome frowned at the mysterious word. Suddenly, the walls of the castle came alive. Armored archers with crossbows erupted into action and took aim at Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked around and smirked, hefting the Tetsusaiga back over his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, put it away!" Kagome hissed.

"Have you noticed the crossbows?" He replied. Kagome looked behind them at three more guards with the giant spears that had emerged from the other gate to the garden.

"They won't fire unless we fight back. You can't kill them, we don't know who they are or where we are," she explained. Inuyasha grunted and thought for a moment, finally sheathing the fang. The guards kept their weapons ready, murmurs of "yaoguai" reaching Inuyasha's ears

"Yeah yeah, yaoguai to you too," Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms. "Kagome, you know what the hell they're saying?"

"Not a clue. It sounds vaguely familiar though…" Kagome whispered. The guards jabbed Kagome in the back, and the miko yelped. Inuyasha spun around and flicked out a claw. The guards brandished the spears again, and Kagome looked behind them. The one guard – his spear seemed longer and with a wider head – shouted something in a foreign language.

"We can't understand you," she pleaded. The guard stared and said something else. "We're from Japan, we just want to get home," Kagome tried again. The guard gasped and shouted a command. Kagome's eyes went wide as the spears drew closer. The lead guard narrowed his eyes and gripped his spear.

"Ja-pan?" he asked. Kagome let out a breath and nodded. The guard barked out another command, and the other four guards moved into formation – two behind Inuyasha and Kagome, one on either side. The head guard waved a hand and marched forward to the far gate. The guards behind them rattled their spears.

"I'm guessing we follow him," Kagome said. Inuyasha moved forward, and Kagome followed. The lead guard rapped his spear on the gate, and it creaked open as two men in grey tunics pulled it open from the other side. The castle halls stretched inside beyond the gate. The procession continued down the hall, and Kagome scanned the castle rooms as they followed the lead guard. Various people in brightly colored robes sat about doing various activities – painting, eating, etc. There were also many guards, all of whom watched them pass.

Finally, they emerged to another garden. Kagome shot a look at Inuyasha. His arms were crossed and his eye were staring ahead, but one hint of trouble and she knew Tetsusaiga would be out. There was a paved walkway before them – paved was a relative term though, it was simply packed dirt with smooth white stones. The way was lined with guards, a dozen in all. A staircase at the end of the walk led to a larger structure.

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't good?" Kagome groaned as they were marched up the steps.

"What gave you that idea, the weird castle or the armed guards?" Inuyasha snorted. Four more guards stood, two at each side, of the door. Two pulled the great door open as Inuyasha and Kagome were marched inside. A small woven mat of reeds lay against the far wall in front of a yellow curtain, and six more guards were around the room. A small table with a tea set and other instruments lay in the middle of the room. The four guards behind them vanished behind the doors as the lead guard entered the yellow curtain. Kagome looked around the room more and gasped. A large map hung on the right wall, and Kagome's jaw dropped.

"Inuyasha, we're in China!" she hissed, turned wide eyes to him. Inuyasha looked back with equal surprise. The lead guard emerged from the curtain and kneeled beside it. The six other guards followed suit, and Kagome gulped.

"Oh no…" she whispered.

"What?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Inuyasha, lots of guards, yellow curtains, people kneeling…" she whispered frantically, dropping to her knees. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Fuck this," he growled, putting a hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

It was then the yellow curtains parted again.

**Historical Notes**

**Yellow was the official Chinese color of royalty and nobility.**

**Iron smelting was developed in China around 500 BC, and came into mainstream use for weapons and armor around 300 BC. The favored weapon of the time was the dagger-axe, a 10-20 ft long spear with an extra blade on the side of the head. Beyond this, because they were easy to build, train with and operate, crossbows were the ranged weapon of choice, and archers were trained in droves.**

**Yaoguai is the Chinese word for "Demon", and is the equivalent word for "Youkai". Most Yaoguai are evil animal spirits who seek immortality and godhood.**


	2. Beautiful

Displacement

Chapter 2

"Beautiful"

Ying Zheng, Lord of the State of Qin, parted the great curtains of his personal rooms and was met with an obviously hostile foe. Ying Zheng put his own hand on the hilt of the blade strapped to his waist and readied for combat. The ignorant peasant guard Lu Wai had told him of a yaoguai that had infiltrated his great palace with a strange woman companion. Ying Zheng did not care for such things, he had the conquest of Chu to plan and had not time to waste with renegade demons. On the other hand, Lu Wai had said the female spoke something in the primitive tongue of the Japanese invaders, so they well have been the spies he had heard rumors of.

Ying Zheng took in the yaoguai's appearance. He was young, and did not appear to be a warrior, although the yaoguai were never to be underestimated. He wore simple rags of red and white, hardly attire fit for a being of his kind. His feet were filthy and bare, his hair white as the skies, and his eyes more golden than the wheat crops. Hardly a warrior's appearance, despite his obvious fighting stance. Ying Zheng wore the great yellow robes of the Emperor on his back, and the finest iron armor of the lands underneath. His long black hair had been neatly combed that morning by his concubines, and wound into a bun held in place with a model of the blade at his side that had served him well the past years. This yaoguai could learn a thing or two about appearances.

Even as he mentally considered the threat of the yaoguai, Ying Zheng grew angry as he realized that this ignorant beast was not only standing before him, but also staring at him in fury. Who was this monster to stand before him!? Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on his sword. This foolish yaoguai may not have known his place before the Lord of Qin, but he would soon learn.

"Osuwari!"

Ying Zheng watched as a small rosary around the yaoguai's neck glowed, before he was slammed into the ground. This was followed by a further series of words from the female, and Ying Zheng smiled slightly as the yaoguai continued to kneel, such at is was. He turned to the female and frowned. Odd though the yaoguai's garb was, hers was stranger still. She wore a rather plain tunic with long, baggy sleeves and a large green collar offset by a red cloth wrapped under it. She wore a bright yellow sack on her back with a strap over both arms, and an odd green garment that covered her upper legs but left the area below the knee bare. Ying Zheng considered this for a moment. Her clean clothing and her yellow pack were surely signs of nobility. Perhaps a lower noble, if she was to be travelling, and surely a little-known family with her odd clothing. But then, if she was Japanese, then such things may well be coincidence. As the northern nomad tribes had proven, there was to be no accounting for the customs of the barbarians.

"Her pack, his sword," Ying Zheng commanded. Two of his bodyguards moved. One moved his dagger-axe behind the female's back and neatly drew it up to slice it apart, earning a gasp from the female. The guard brought the pack before Ying Zheng with a bow. The yaoguai was not so cooperative, and was growling even as he defended his blade. The female said something more, and the yaoguai's growls grew lower. The nervous guard looked at Ying Zheng with wide eyes. "His sword," the Lord repeated. The guard again reached for the blade, and jumped. The yaoguai unclipped the sword's sash and threw it towards Ying Zheng, who deftly caught it before it struck his arm. The yaoguai glared at him as he drew the sword. The blade was clearly rusted and old, with many nicks and scratches. It had obviously seen more than its share of battle. Ying Zheng rapped it on the hilt of the dagger-axe of his closest guard, noting the blade held true. In its better days it would have been a great weapon. Now it was obviously an heirloom, a ceremonial thing, than it was a true weapon. He sheathed the sword and tossed it back to the yaoguai's feet. No sense in keeping it, he had no use for it.

That done, Ying Zheng inspected the girl's yellow pack. It contained many thick things that were hard yet yielding, and Ying Zheng quickly discovered they opened. He looked through the first of the contraptions he had found and saw many pictures and foreign lettering. Some sort of Japanese text, no doubt, though he had not the knowledge of the language to read it. The others varied in size, but were of similar design, and Ying Zheng decided to let them be. There were a series of smaller items that looked stranger still, but none appeared as weapons. Still, it could not hurt to be sure – he placed the pack aside to have another look later. Ying Zheng turned back to the female and noted with satisfaction she had been keeping her head low. Obviously the females of the Japanese were more intelligent than the males, if these two were any indication.

"Look up," he commanded, addressing the female. She did not, and Ying Zheng snorted, giving the guard closest to her a wave of the hand. His dagger axe slid into the female's vision, and jerked up. The female slowly raised her head and stared up at him. Ying Zheng felt his breath hitch as he locked eyes with her, his surprise easily showing. The woman kneeling before him…

"Beautiful…" he whispered, unable to help himself. Her eyes were wide and a light brown as fresh soil, soft and fertile. Her lips had parted slightly as her breath quickened, and were pink as the cherry blossoms in his private gardens. Her hair fell like dark waves and framed the perfection of her creamy face. Ying Zheng stared for a moment before remembering the moment. The woman was lovely, but was likely a spy. He waved his hand again and averted his gaze from the vixen's face. The guard rattled his spear and had her lower her head. Ying Zheng looked back at the yaoguai and sighed.

"Ryuichi!" he called, turning to his great curtains. He allowed the man a moment to come before he parted the curtains. Ryuichi was a short, round man dressed in dark blue with a red sash. His black hair was cut closed to the scalp, and he had removed all his hair on the face, including his eyebrows. He quickly bowed before Ying Zheng. Ryuichi had come to Ying Zheng years ago, and quickly earned his favor. Not only was Ryuichi loyal, but he was also a Japanese native. His insight on the customs and ways of his former people had proven helpful over the years. He was no fighter, but then, that was not expected of him and was one of the few reasons Ying Zheng trusted he was not an assassin or a spy sent to kill him.

"My Lord," Ryuichi whispered, standing. Ying Zheng nodded and gestured towards the yaoguai and his lovely companion.

"They are Japanese, your former people," Ying Zheng explained. "Speak to them. Find out why they are in my realm." Ryuichi bowed and stepped towards the woman first, laying a hand on her head.

* * *

"Stand, my dear, we shall not harm you."

Kagome gasped at the clear Japanese spoken by the man above her. It was hard to understand, probably due to the time difference that was more noticeable here, but it was yet Japanese. She listened and stood up. The man was large and dressed in blue robes. He was kindly enough, though, and was smiling. The man behind him was slender and tall, with yellow robes and a sword at his waist. Kagome wasn't entirely sure of what time this was and who he was, but anyone who had six guards obviously was someone you didn't want to make mad.

"You…speak Japanese," Kagome said. The man nodded.

"I was of the Japan people before I came here years ago. I am Ryuichi, advisor to Lord Ying Zheng of Qin. His majesty has requested I speak to you as he is unable to do so himself," Ryuichi replied.

"Great, then ask his royal ass-ship where the fuck we are and when the hell we can leave!" Inuyasha roared, get to his feet. Ryuichi turned him as Kagome stared at him in horror.

"I am…sorry?" Ryuichi replied, cocking his head. "Young lady, your companion speaks strangely." Kagome let out a sigh of relief. Maybe the time language-barrier would pay off with Inuyasha around.

"He wants to know where we are and if we can leave," Kagome translated. Inuyasha shot her a look, and Kagome made a mental note to sit him later. Ryuichi nodded and turned to translate to the man he called Ying Zheng. Kagome gasped. That name sounded familiar…why hadn't she paid more attention in history?

"You are in Xianyang, the Lord's great capitol. As for leaving, I am afraid not. There iare many armies and spies wandering the countryside, and in this time of the Warring States, we cannot allow anyone to go free without making sure they do not intent our state harm. You understand, of course," Ryuichi relayed. Kagome gasped.

"Warring States?" she asked. "Do you know what year this is?" Ryuichi frowned.

"I…don't understand," he admitted. Inuyasha crossed his arms and growled.

"Could I see one of my books?" Kagome asked, pointing to her backpack. Ryuichi turned and translated the request to Ying Zheng. The Lord replied after a moment.

"Tell me what it is you require, and I shall retrieve it for you," Ryuichi said.

"It's a book with a blue cover that says "History"," Kagome replied. Ryuichi nodded and walked to the pack, looking it through it and finally pulling out Kagome's history textbook.

"Thanks," Kagome breathed, taking the book and flipping through it. As she read, Ying Zheng frowned and said something else in Chinese.

"The Lord would know what it is you seek in this text," Ryuichi said.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Kagome replied. "Do the words 'time travel' mean anything to you?" she asked, looking up. Ryuichi slowly shook his head. "Didn't think so," she muttered.

"Look, I don't know this Lord Jing-a-Ling or whatever the hell his name is, and I don't care much about him either. Just tell us when we can leave," Inuyasha snapped.

"I am sorry, as I said his Lord cannot allow this. This is a time of war for the Qin state, we cannot allow strangers to just come and go," Ryuichi repeated. Kagome gasped, and Inuyasha turned to her, his eyes wide.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered. She noticed Ryuichi staring at her, and covered her mouth to whisper so only the hanyou would hear. "Trust me, don't piss these guys off, I'll explain later," she murmured. Inuyasha nodded at the discreet command and turned his attention back to Ryuichi.

"Well if we can't leave, what the hell does he want us to do?" he continued. Ryuichi relayed the question.

"We will take you to a holding cell while we discuss that. You will be taken to the shrine where we can set up a proper warding, the woman will…"

"I'm not leaving Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted. Ryuichi frowned and thought for a moment.

"Well…hm…" Ryuichi turned and spoke to Ying Zheng. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome's history book as she kept reading.

"So what's the big deal about this guy?" he asked. Kagome looked up to make sure Ryuichi wasn't listening.

"I know where we are, _when_ we are," she whispered. "We _did_ travel back to the Warring States Era," she explained.

"So we just have to get back to Japan and go back down the well, right?" Inuyasha asked.

"Not exactly…we're in the _wrong_ Warring States Era," Kagome corrected. "The Sengoku Jidai for Japan was during the fifteenth century. The Warring States Era for China was a little earlier…" Kagome trailed off.

"Yeah, how much earlier?" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome gulped and opened her mouth to answer.

"The Lord will allow you to occupy the same cell," Ryuichi said, cutting her off. "We will have our Taoist priests ward the cell to hold you, of course, and we shall have to keep the girl's belongings for inspection." Even as he spoke, a guard slipped Kagome's book from behind her back and passed it to Ryuichi. The two guards behind them rapped on the doors to the room, swinging them out to the garden path again.

"Please, follow our escort. We will summon you to speak in time," Ryuichi asked. Inuyasha looked over his shoulder. A few more guards than before were gathering.

"You promise you won't hurt us?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring Inuyasha's growls, and nodded.

"Of course. But please, do not try and escape," he replied. Kagome sighed.

"Alright…" she muttered, turning.

"Are you nuts? Kagome!" Inuyasha cried. Kagome shook her head and waked into the path. Inuyasha followed her as the guards led them down the path.

"Trust me, Inuyasha," she said. "Now is not the time to fight."

"I don't get it, what's going on?" Inuyasha demanded. Kagome took a breath.

"That man was Ying Zheng. In 221 B.C., he becomes the first man to unify all of China under one empire and declare himself ruler of the country," she explained. At Inuyasha's stunned expression, she nodded.

"Like I said, try not to piss him off," she repeated.

**Historical Notes**

**To the best of my knowledge there was no Japanese-Chinese interaction during the Warring States Era of China. Thus, the idea of Japanese armies allying with Ying Zheng's enemies is fictional, as is the character of Ryuichi.**

**The Warring States Era of China lasted from the fifth century B.C. to 221 B.C., when the State of Qin (pronounced 'chin') subjugated all enemy states. The Lord of Qin, Ying Zheng, took the name Shi Huang ('First Emperor'), gave the country its name for the first time, and founded the Qin Dynasty, the first time in Chinese history a single dynasty had united all states under one banner.**


	3. Well Yippie For You

Displacement

Chapter 3

"Well Yippie For You"

Sunlight streamed through the window of the small stone and wood cell Kagome and Inuyasha occupied in the rear of the palace. The beam shone itself onto Kagome's face, and she blinked awake after a moment. She sat up to watch Inuyasha in the corner of the cell. Tetsusaiga lay in his lap, his hands in his sleeves and his head down. The miko quickly recognized the hanyou's guard stance, and remained quiet. But then his ear twitched, and he raised his head.

"You're awake," he stated, looking at her. Kagome nodded. How he managed to do that every time amazed her. She looked at his eyes and held back a frown. The hanyou was one of the strongest people she knew, physically and mentally, but the eyes were betraying him – he didn't like the situation any more than she did, probably less.

"Yeah," she replied, stretching. Sleep had only come after several hours and laying awake and contemplating what had happened to them. Ancient China, long before the Senkogu Jidai, before even the most fundamental aspects of modern culture had taken root. The hows, whys, and whats of the idea had made sure she had gotten only a few hours of sleep. The dry, scratchy hay and wooden bamboo walls and bars combined to make an uneasy environment that hadn't helped any.

"So, what now?" Inuyasha muttered. Kagome thought for a moment. With one swing of Tetsusaiga, half of the palace would be in splinters and they would be halfway back to Japan before the Lord even knew they were gone. But escaping didn't solve the problem of the fact they were a thousand years or so before their time. And Kagome had no idea how to solve that problem.

"We need their help to find out how to get back home," Kagome thought aloud. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

"Have you fucking lost it? The Lord Ying whatever-the-hell had us locked down here in the first place! There's no way he'll help us!" he protested.

"He locked us up because he thought we were spies!" Kagome shot back. "We have to convince him we just want to go home." Inuyasha scowled and snorted. Suddenly, his ears perked up, and he turned to face to the left. Kagome watched two of the armed guards approach them, with a welcome, familiar face.

"Good morning," Ryuichi said with a bow. "I hope you are alright."

"Merry-fucking-peachy," Inuyasha growled, crossing his arms. Ryuichi either didn't understand or didn't acknowledge him, turning to Kagome.

"The Lord has decided to hear what it is you two would desire from us. He will decide what to do with you two after he is told," he explained. Kagome took a breath.

"We're from the future and we just want to go home!" she blurted. Ryuichi frowned and thought for a moment. Kagome mentally groaned at the string of mutters and curses from behind her.

"You mean to tell me you are not of this era? Is that you meant by that…time travel term?" he asked. Kagome smiled in relief.

"Yes, exactly! We're from an era long after this one! We never meant to come here, we just want to go home!" he agreed. Ryuichi nodded.

"I will convey your message to Lord Ying Zheng," he replied. "Please, wait here." Ryuichi turned and left the prison, his guards remaining behind.

"You sure it was a good idea to tell him?" Inuyasha growled. Kagome sighed.

"No, but we have no choice. We have to try and convince them to help us," she replied. "Something had to have happened with the well to send us here. We just have to figure out what." She sat down in the hay and thought for a moment. Something had linked the two times together. The Sengoku Jidai and the modern world were linked by the Shikon-no-Tama, and the soul she and Kikyo shared. So what had happened to link the modern to this world? It was surely far too early for Inuyasha to have lived, and probably before Midoriko's time. Kaede had said it was several centuries before the time she knew, but this era was a few millennia before Midoriko. So what else could it be?

"The Lord would speak to the yaoguai." Kagome looked up. Ryuichi had returned without her noticing.'

"Like hell, I ain't leaving Kagome," Inuyasha snapped.

"I assure you, no harm will come to her. She will remain here, but she will be safe," Ryuichi replied.

"Inuyasha, go, I'll be fine," Kagome whispered. Inuyasha gave a look, and stood up. The guards undid the leather straps holding the bamboo cell, creaking it open. The hanyou pushed past them, and the door was tied back into place.

"I will take you to see Lord Ying Zheng," Ryuichi said. "Follow me,"

"Yeah yeah," Inuyasha muttered. Ryuichi stepped up to the door to the small, dark prison and rapped on it. The reed and wood door was pulled back, and Ryuichi led Inuyasha down the path into the main corridors of the palace. Inuyasha watched the movement of the guards out of the corners of his eye. Four were following him, and there were several with crossbows on the palace walls. Inuyasha smirked. Four humans in heavy iron armor with some crossbows? Even the lowliest youkai could beat that.

Two more guards pulled back the gate before them, and Ryuichi led Inuyasha into the palace. Two of the guards following fell off as they walked through the palace. There was a small staircase of polished wood leading up to a second floor. Finally, they stopped. The next set of reed doors were covered in a golden gloss.

"The Lord requests you wear this in his presence," Ryuichi said, holding out his hand. Inuyasha reached out a claw and took the offered object. It was a woven string of some sort of plant, with a small brass setting holding a marble of polished green jade. "It has been enchanted by our Priests. Please put it on now," Ryuichi explained.

"Whatever," Inuyasha growled, slipping it over his head. "What the hell is this pendant gonna do anyway?"

"It will allow you to understand my words directly, yaoguai." The guards bowed as Ryuichi parted the gold reeds and entered the next room. Inuyasha followed. Standing near the far wall, looking out a window, was the man they had met yesterday. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

"Lord Ying Zheng, the yaoguai, as you requested," Ryuichi whispered, bowing his head to the ground. Ying Zheng turned.

"Thank you, Ryuichi," he replied. He turned his attention to Inuyasha. "It is customary in our land to bow to a lord, creature," he said, a hint of annoyance entering his. Inuyasha got down on one knee.

"That's as low as I'm going," he warned. Ying Zheng snorted.

"Very well. Obviously you do not like me. If it makes you feel better, I don't particularly like you, either. But fortunately I do not believe friendship is needed for either of our purposes," he said. "What is needed it trust and loyalty."

"Yeah right," Inuyasha snapped, standing up. "Look, what the hell do you want with us?" Ying Zheng waved a hand, and Ryuichi moved to open a large box and remove something. Kagome's backpack. Ryuichi placed it at Inuyasha's feet and moved back behind him.

"I have examined the contents of the sack your companion carried when we found you. I have determined that, while you are still not trusted, you are not spies nor are you assassins. I thus find no reason to keep you around. Quite the contrary, I would rid my realm of both of you quickly. I have other matters that requires my undivided attention," Ying Zheng explained. He sat down at a small table and unfurled a scroll on it. "Come, look," he ordered. Inuyasha stepped forward. From what he had seen of Kagome's textbooks, it looked like a map of China, although it had all sorts of borders and Chinese text on it. Ying Zheng pointed a finger at one area.

"My State of Qin," he said. "And here…all I have conquered," Ying Zheng ran his finger over most of the northern areas of the map. Inuyasha whistled low. Okay, maybe the asshole had something to back up his ego. "The northern states of Yan, Zhao and Qi are all that remain, all other northern states are mine. The three are weak and easily destroyed, and thus no threat to me. Soon the entirety of northern China shall bow before the lord of Qin," Ying Zheng explained.

"Well yippie for you," Inuyasha muttered. Ying Zheng ignored him and pointed to another area on the map, covering most of the lower portion.

"However, currently my campaign to conquer Chu is at a standstill," Ying Zheng said, bitterness in his voice. "Their state is the largest, even more than Qin, and they have the numbers to accompany their size. My army and theirs fight and both are weakened, neither wins. In time I shall destroy them, it is merely a matter of time and men before they fall. They are all that can oppose me." Ying Zheng stood and crossed back to the window.

"However, time is something they intend to rob me off," he said lowly. "The traitorous Chu have on their borders an army of Japanese soldiers, your people," Ying Zheng called. Inuyasha's ear twitched. "A thousand men strong, with several yaoguai in their ranks. These invaders are not of the Chu, but if they are allowed on their borders then they must surely have an alliance against me."

"So what do you want me to do, you've got an army, wipe them out yourself," Inuyasha snapped, annoyed. Ying Zheng scowled and turned around, glaring.

"Your mind is as feeble as I would expect from a yaoguai," he growled. "I sent my army, two thousand men. They fell, many were killed, few survived." Ying Zheng clenched his hand, and Inuyasha sniffed. Waves of anger were washing off him, along with the slightest tinge of embarrassment and fear.

"Their general is a yaoguai, his forces of human and yaoguai are potent. And their general is their strongest warrior. My soldiers told me they saw him slay dozens of my most skilled warriors in one swing of his blade," Ying Zheng whispered. "Against such power, even when I conquer them, the losses would make my army too weak to continue to the defense against Chu. My campaign is nearly at an end, and I will not allow a small army of Japanese barbarians to ruin all I have strived for." Ying Zheng took a breath and composed himself.

"Ryuichi tells me you and your companion are not of this realm, that you are from another year you wish to return to. Does he speak true?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're from a long time after this," Inuyasha nodded. "We just wanna go back, you go and conquer Chu or whatever the hell it is you wanna do."

"I know you wish to return. Which is why I will offer you a deal. I will help you and your companion acquire the knowledge you seek to return to your home. But in return, you will assist me," Ying Zheng continued.

"What, you want me to kill the army?" Inuyasha replied. Ying Zheng glared.

"I need not the help of a yaoguai to fight my battles!" he roared. "However, seeing as how they are not obeying the rules of war, I find that I have no need to obey them either. You will go to their camp, I am told they have a small palace there. You will find their general and kill him. You will return here and bring me his head. Afterwards you and your companion will be released."

"Do I have a choice?" Inuyasha muttered.

"Certainly. You may decline my offer and rot in my prison, you may offer to be executed now, or you may take what I offer," Ying Zheng replied with a smirk. Inuyasha growled and fought the urge to attack him.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said. Ying Zheng smiled and nodded.

"Excellent. Ryuichi, see that the yaoguai has whatever travelling provisions he requires, food, weapons-."

"I'm fine," Inuyasha interrupted. "I travel a lot faster than any of you humans, I can be there and back in a couple days."

"Of course, of course," Ying Zheng agreed. "Then, seeing as how you need no supplies, I see no need why you must remain here any longer. You will leave now," Ying Zheng turned his back on the hanyou again, an obvious dismissal. Inuyasha either didn't notice or didn't care.

"What about Kagome?" he snapped. Ying Zheng frowned but did not turn.

"Who?" he replied.

"The girl I was with," Inuyasha explained. Ying Zheng smiled slightly.

"She shall remain here until your return, of course, to ensure you fulfil your end of the bargain. You have ten sunsets and sunrises to complete your task. Then she shall die," he said. Inuyasha growled.

"I'm gonna talk to her before I go," he muttered, turning. Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes. The disrespect of this yaoguai was becoming harder and harder to tolerate.

"No, you will not," he replied, looking over his shoulder. Inuyasha spun around, his growls growing in volume. "I do not know how yaoguai are treated in Japan, yaoguai, but here, you are in my realm now. You would do well to learn your place before me. You have until high sun to leave my palace, or she will die and my offer is retracted." Inuyasha clenched his fist.

"You're a bastard," he hissed. Ying Zheng smirked.

"Perhaps, but here I rule all, and you are nothing. Remember that before you speak to me in such a manner again," he said. Inuyasha glared and turned, stomping out of the room. Ying Zheng sighed and looked down at the map on his table.

"My Lord," Ryuichi said, drawing his attention. "Shall I begin to have the priests look for a way to return them?" Ying Zheng barked slightly.

"Now, why on earth should we waste our time?" he scoffed. "Their story is absurd, Ryuichi, do not be so gullible. Even if they were to be telling the truth, I see no reason to let a perfectly healthy and lovely young woman leave my realm. The girl…what as her name again?" he asked.

"I believe it was 'Kagome', my Lord," Ryuichi replied. Ying Zheng took a breath and smiled. Light and beautiful, just like its owner. Appropriate.

"She shall remain here. Have the guards release her, show her about the palace, she that she is fed and properly clothed," he continued, remembering the girl's appearance. The short green material flattered her legs quite well, but was not proper wear for being in the palace. "I would have her know she is no prisoner here."

"I see…but, what of the yaoguai?" Ryuichi asked nervously. Ying Zheng nodded.

"Oh, I shall keep my promise to him of course, he shall be allowed to return home," he explained, turning. He drew the sword at his waist and held it up, running a finger along the inside of its curve. "When he returns, he will be sent back to the Hell from whence he came."

**Historical Notes**

**By 225 BC, the State of Qin had subjugated the states of Han and Wei, and the remaining three states of Qi, Yan and Zhao were too small and weak to oppose him. The southern state of Chu, however, was more formidable, and its army was not easily conquered – in the time before Ying Zheng's reign it had dominated all other states as the strongest. It took two years of war before the state fell – in the two years after, the remaining states either surrendered or were conquered. The fall of Chu, more than any other state, all but solidified that Ying Zheng's conquest of China would succeed, and was the defining moment in his campaign.**


	4. We Have Much to Discuss

Displacement 

Chapter 4

"We Have Much To Discuss"

The leather straps holding the bamboo bars together were undone, and Kagome climbed to her feet.

"What's going on, where's Inuyasha?" she demanded. Ryuichi held up his hands.

"Relax, my dear girl, your companion is safe," he explained. "Our lord has sent him on a journey to prove his loyalty to him. Our most hallowed priests are working on a way to send you home as we speak." Ryuichi removed a small jade pendant from his robe and held it out. "Please, wear this. It will you allow to understand the native tongue of the land. I have been instructed to see that you are properly clothed and fed. Come with me," Kagome took the small jade talisman and slipped it over her head.

"Do you think you can find a way to send us home?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi turned and frowned, leading her from the jail.

"I assure you that such a thing is certainly within our lord's power," he said slowly. Lying was not something Ryuichi liked doing to innocents. The fact this young woman was a native of his homeland did not help.

"Good. I heard he was a great ruler…" Kagome said. It wasn't a lie, really. Ying Zheng would be vilified by the Han Dynasty that would overthrow his own, but modern scholars would come to understand the significance of the unification he established.

"Yes. Our lord's methods are brutal to those who do not understand the times," Ryuichi agreed, leading her into the courtyard. "For a great many years the states of China have fought, and all rulers before our lord failed to curb the wars. Our lord will usher is a new era of unity that will last for a thousand years. Under his reign, peace shall finally become the doctrine of our land."

* * *

"You have returned," Ying Zheng muttered, narrowing his eyes. Jao Szu, emissary of Guangzhou, bowed low.

"My most sacred lord, I have returned," he agreed. Ying Zheng stood and walked to him.

"Did you find it?" he asked. Jao Szu slowly stood, but kept his head bowed.

"My lord, the southern jungles yielded a great many treasures. The Nanyue barbarians have been repelled with our superior training and weapons, and their most valued items are ours. Large quantities of sacred jade and a great many stores of iron await you in the coming caravans, and their crops are most bountiful-."

"You did not answer me," Ying Zheng interrupted coldly. Jao Szu gulped.

"Although many valued items and new tonics were found in the Nanyue kingdom…I'm afraid the elixir you sought is not among them…" he whispered.

"You are certain?" Ying Zheng growled, drawing his sword. Jao Szu's eyes tracked the blade as the inside of its curve came to rest on his neck. "You are aware of what will happen if you lying. You did not take it for yourself, did you?"

"No, my most sacred lord, I would never betray you! The elixir is yours and yours alone, I swear it!" Jao Szu pleaded. Ying Zheng drew his blade back to rest on his shoulder.

"You did not take my elixir?" he repeated. Jao Szu shook his head, and Ying Zheng nodded. "Good. But, I'm sure you can understand that I need to be sure," Ying Zheng continued. Jao Szu's eyes widened as the blade in his lord's hand quickly flipped around. A quick flick of the wrist, and a thin, narrow band of red appeared on Jao Szu's neck. Jao Szu's mouth fell open as he crumpled to the ground.

"You spoke true," Ying Zheng muttered, looking down at the dying man. "Under the circumstance, I'll understand if my reaffirmation of your loyalty is insignificant to you." Ying Zheng knelt and took Jao Szu's sleeve, cleaning off the tip of his blade on it before standing and waving his hand. His guard moved in to pick up the corpse and carry it away as Ying crossed to a cabinet on the side of the room.

"It would appear the Elixir of Life is as rare as the gods that created it," Li Si said. Ying Zheng nodded and opened the door of the cabinet, withdrawing a small box. Li Si was his most trusted adviser, had been for many years. It was he who had suggested the treatment in the box in his hands.

"There are only many places it can be hidden. The land only has so many li," Ying Zheng replied. He lowered his head and lifted a hand. He knew he had many years left in him, a great deal many due to the treatments in the box before him. But blades and armor had been of no use against a foe as powerful and relentless as Time. He saw the wrinkles that covered his hand; felt that, though he was as skilled a warrior as any in the land, he was not as agile or strong as he once was.

"Of course, we shall find it. It is merely a matter of time," Li Si agreed. Ying Zheng was silent for a moment before opening the box. Inside laid several small, round niches in a wooden tray. Each niche held a small, soft ball, about the size of a man's fingertip. Ying Zheng picked up a ball and held it up to eye level.

"Time…is the one thing I cannot acquire more of through conquest," he whispered, studying the ball. It was green and gold in color, with small streaks of gray. It took a great deal of trouble to manufacture this particular delicacy. The millet and wheat in the ball had spent much time in bowls of quicksilver, absorbing its life-giving powers and giving it a tolerable taste. Ying Zheng popped the ball of plant and mercury into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. He closed the box and placed it back in the cabinet.

"Send another scouting party to the north," he ordered. "Arm them well, I do not want the Xiongnu to cause them problems." Li Si bowed.

"Of course, my lord," he replied, leaving.

* * *

The sun had set long ago and the moon, bright as any beacon, had risen high into the sky by the time Inuyasha reached what was more than likely the Qin-Chu border. Although the land didn't have any obvious indications of the difference in ownership, the two states had obviously laid claim to their territory and told the other about it in the most obvious way possible. Although he had spent most of the day dashing across the countryside, past the occasional farm or settlement, he skidded to a halt when he reached the border.

Long wooden spikes had been pounded into the ground. They emerged almost six feet from the ground, and Inuyasha wrinkled his nose and held up his sleeve to block out the overwhelming stench of death and decay. Each post held a suit of armor before it, the arms bent back and lashed around the wood with thick straps of leather tying their wrists. As near as Inuyasha could tell, the soldiers had been tied to the stakes and left to die. Most of the bodies were still in the process of decomposing, and several had been picked at by animals.

Inuyasha growled and marched past the grim markers, sniffing. There were definitely lots of youkai scents. None of them were particularly strong, but one…Inuyasha stopped and dropped on all fours, sniffing the ground. He stood up and scowled. There. Faint but unmistakable, the scent of a fully mature, full-powered youkai. Inuyasha walked forward, scanning the horizon. Little more than odd rocks and trees barred his path. Although seeing an enemy would be easy, ambushing one in the open space would be just as easy…

Inuyasha stopped, and stared ahead. The plains ahead were the same combination of dirt and grass he had seen the rest of the day, but the scents of the plain just stopped. He put out a hand and snorted as it met a ripple in the air. A barrier. Inuyasha pushed and watched his hand go through with a smirk. It was mostly for keeping out humans and hiding whatever was inside, even a weaker youkai could pass through. He stepped through the threshold and stared at the plain ahead.

The plains gave way to a small, gentle hill. At the bottom loomed what was obvious the Japanese camp Ying Zheng had spoken of. Several tents and campfires loomed about the area, the scents of cooking meet and human sweat reaching Inuyasha's nose. Several dark but human forms were walking around. Near the middle of the camp rose a surprisingly large Japanese castle.

"A phantom castle…" he muttered. The scent of youkai was much stronger here, and Inuyasha could identify a few of the breeds. At least two neko, one kitsune, one inu-youkai, and three koumori youkai were among the troops, along with several other scents he couldn't identify. Inuyasha smirked and leapt.

He landed behind a tent and crept along the ground. A koumori was to the left, and heard him. It turned, and he jumped, landing on its shoulders and kicking it in the head as he spring boarded forward. There were a few cries, and a rattle of iron, but he ignored it and dashed forward. Three forms – one of them a neko – loomed from the darkness ahead, and Inuyasha leapt up. The castle lay right underneath him. With a flash, he drew Tetsusaiga and dropped, swinging the blade.

The wood of the roof crumbled before the fang, and Inuyasha landed inside, crouched in a cloud of dust. He stood up and narrowed his eyes at the flowered shoji. He snarled and jumped forward, slashing it apart. The thin wall fell, and Inuyasha hefted the Tetsusaiga over his shoulder.

Behind the shoji lay a small room. Two small windows lay on either side of th room, covered by fluttering blue curtains. There was a small fire with a metal pot boiling over it in the center. Behind it laid a small, squat table. A being sat behind it, cross-legged. Slim, clawed fingers reached to the table and picked up a small ceramic cup. The figure's torso was dark from the dim lighting, but the figure's white hakama was clearly visible

"Found you," Inuyasha chuckled.

"You are a fast one," the being said in Japanese, sipping the tea.

"You were waiting?" Inuyasha muttered.

"But of course. I sensed it when you passed my barrier. No doubt you are another assassin sent to slay me by the Qin. Although I must admit I am surprised they found a youkai to pursue me, much less a Japanese one."

"Yeah, you'll have plenty of time to think it over when you're dead," Inuyasha snarled, holding out the Tetsusaiga. The figure set down the tea and stood.

"You will not kill me, youkai…oh…you're a hanyou," the figure replied.

"Yeah, what of it?" Inuyasha snapped. "I've killed plenty of stronger youkai than you!"

"Good for you. But as I said you will not kill me, I will not allow it and find my interests currently involve you being kept alive," the figure explained. "We have much to discuss."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Inuyasha muttered, narrowing his eyes. The figure put a hand to their hip, and there was a small 'click' of metal. There was a flash of light, and a gust of wind and youki rushed past Inuyasha, flinging back the light blue curtains covering the windows, bathing the room in moonlight. Tetsusaiga clanged to the ground as Inuyasha's eyes went wide.

A baggy white hakama led up to a black sash, tying two sword sheaths to the figure's hip. A black kimono covered their torso, twin metal plates with large spikes covering the figure's upper arms and shoulders, along with a larger plate covering his chest. Leather gauntlets covered the figure's wrists. A long boa of white fur was wrapped around his chest and trailed down his back. Long white hair tied up in a ponytail near the scalp mixed in with the fur. But what chilled Inuyasha's blood was the gigantic, gleaming sword held over the figure's shoulder.

"For starters," the figure said, narrowing a pair of gleaming gold eyes, "you will explain to me how it is you wield the sword of my fang."

**Phantom Castle – remember how Naraku always turns his castle to dust and whirls it away to reform somewhere else? Same basic principle.**

**Historical Notes **

**Ying Zheng was obsessed with death. Worried that the vengeful souls of his enemies would attack him in the afterlife, he had the famous Terracotta Army built to protect himself. When he became convinced that even this mighty army would not be strong enough to ensure his soul's safety, he then began the search for the Elixir of Life that could bestow invincibility and immortality, hoping to prevent his death entirely. In the meantime, he became to consume mercury, aka quicksilver, in the hopes of prolonging his life. Because it could dissolve gold, the Chinese believed mercury possessed supernatural powers, and longevity was supposed to be one of them. Ironically, eating mercury on a regular basis more than likely hastened his death rather than delaying it.**

**Li Si is not an OC, but was Ying Zheng's actual advisor for much of his reign. He was also who advised Ying Zheng to outlaw the studies of Confusious and to ban most books in the hopes of suppressing rebellious thought. Due to his insight, Li Si proved vital to the efficiency of Ying Zheng's campaigns by helping plan his empire's structure.**

**The Xiongnu were a group of nomads that lived to the north of China, in modern Mongolia. They were a periodic trouble for the Qin Dynasty and several dynasties before and after Ying Zheng's rule, although they weren't much more than nuisance. Ironically, in 209 BC, only one year after Ying Zheng's death, the Xiongnu formalized into a confederate empire to become a real and formidable foe rather than a handful of barbarian tribes.**

**Tea was not really introduced into Japan until around the 9th century AD. But in China it was known as far back as 2700 BC. And, ironically enough, it was Japanese envoys to China who brought back the seeds. The Japanese Emperor liked the drink, and Japanese tea cultivation was born, some three millennia after it began in China. That's history for you…**


	5. I Am Called

Displacement 

Chapter 5

"I Am Called…"

Inuyasha got a brief glimpse of what it might have been to be Sesshomaru at that moment. It seemed like ice itself was flowing through his veins and slowing his heart to where it seemed to stop beating altogether. He only had the fuzziest memories of a single brief glimpse before he was carried screaming into the night as a pup, but they fit. The man before him couldn't possibly be…

"I asked you a question," The youkai snapped, bringing the hanyou back to reality. "How is it your sword is the same as mine? Tetsusaiga is my blade alone," the youkai said.

"It's…uh…" Inuyasha stammered. Could he really tell him the truth? 'You don't know me, but in a thousand years or so I'll be your son, but you won't live to recognize me anyway'. Would he even believe it?

"Answer me, boy," the youkai growled, drumming his fingers along the hilt of his Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha thought quickly. A lie made up so fast wouldn't be easy to pull off, but the truth…

"It's an heirloom," he blurted. The youkai raised an eyebrow. "From my…from my father," Inuyasha explained.

"Do you think me a fool, boy? That blade is of an inu-youkai fang, and an extremely powerful inu-youkai at that," the youkai replied. Inuyasha mentally cursed and tried to cover his tracks.

"Yeah, he…he was a warlord…a powerful taiyoukai," he said. The youkai nodded after a moment, and Inuyasha let out a sigh as he accepted the argument.

"Another inu-youkai taiyoukai, eh? Tell me, what is your father's name?" he asked. Inuyasha visibly flinched.

"I don't know. He died when I was a kid, a long time ago," he whispered sadly.

"My sympathies," The youkai said, although he didn't really sound like he meant it. The shoji burst open behind Inuyasha as three youkai ran inside. Two of them had long blue hair and smelt like koumori-youkai, armed with small katana. Their leader was a female neko-youkai with long, flaming red hair and bright blue eyes. Iron armor of inter-locking plates covered her torso, and a red skirt flowed to her knees. Two pads of iron with blunted spikes covered her shoulders, and a scabbard was strapped to her back.

"My lord, stand back!" she cried, pulling her arm back and grabbing the hilt of her sword. The youkai held up a hand.

"That's enough, Yuka. Our friend here seems to have stayed his hand for the time," he explained, sheathing his Tetsusaiga. Yuka kept her eyes trained on Inuyasha, and they widened slightly.

"My lord, this hanyou…he's…"

"A inu-hanyou, yes," the youkai confirmed. "Do not think I did not notice right away." Yuka blushed slightly and bowed.

"Apologies, my lord. The resemblance was just surprising," she said. The youkai nodded.

"Now, boy, I believe we were speaking. It occurs to me you have not been forthcoming with your name," he continued. Inuyasha thought for a moment. Hell, he had already told him the truth…well, half-truth, about Tetsusaiga.

"Inuyasha," he replied. The youkai nodded and frowned.

"Interesting name…and your scent, not to mention your father's standing…tell me, is it possible I've met him before?" he asked. Inuyasha bit back a sarcastic remark and reminded himself that his "father" was just a random inu-youkai lord.

"Yeah, I think you probably have," he replied.

"Interesting…well then, I suggest you decide what you're going to do. I'd rather like to keep you alive, I have no interest in murdering a young hanyou. If you wish to fight me then say so, otherwise I'd like you to leave my borders at once. My men and I have battles and trips to plan," the youkai said.

"I…can I come back tomorrow?" Inuyasha asked. "There's a lot more I have to say."

"Which I'm sure will likely be of little interest to me, but as you wish, you may return," the youkai replied with a wave of his hand. Inuyasha scowled. Now he knew where Sesshomaru got it…

"I will escort you to the barrier," Yuka said harshly, taking his arm. Inuyasha watched as the youkai lord sat down and refilled his cup with the pot of tea before taking a scroll from beside him and spreading it before him.

"Wait," Inuyasha whispered. The youkai continued to use a finger to mentally map out some travel destination, but moved his head slightly to acknowledge the hanyou. "I didn't get your name," Inuyasha finished. The youkai lord folded his arms in his lap and lifted his head. The moonlight from the windows cast an unearthly glow over his silver hair and twin crimson stripes on his cheeks. His bangs ruffled, and Inuyasha took note of the small crescent moon there. The room was silent for several moments.

"I am called…Toga," the lord replied. Inuyasha's breath hitched, and he bowed quickly before leaving. After decades of trying and remembering nothing but a pair of golden eyes with a silver mane…he had a name. He mentally cursed that Kagome was here. The nosy wench had a habit of guessing and sorting out his feelings. It would have been nice for someone else to make sense of all that had just happened because he sure was hell couldn't.

Yuka and her guards left the room, and Toga lifted his cup to his lips.

"The hanyou son of a dead inu-youkai lord with a sword carved from his fang…" he whispered to his tea before sipping. He lowered it down and stared into the embers of the firepit, stroking the rim of the cup with a slender forefinger.

- - - - - - - - - -

Ribbons of yellow, orange and red weaved in and out of the clouds on the horizon. Finally, the sun rose over the distant hills, the gleaming rays casting off the shroud of night that had blanketed the lands. The light sprinted over the distant farms, crawling over the roofs of the peasant huts before leaping over the wall of the castle and climbing up to bask the man overlooking the land in its warmth.

Ying Zheng smiled. He enjoyed watching the sunrise in the early morning, long before anyone had woken up with the exception of the two guards who kept vigilant before his chambers in the night. He admired the sun, in a strange way. The land was covered in darkness, supported by the shadows cast by everything from the mighty mountains to the lowest rocks and the simple trees. But the sun rose above such opposition to cover the land in its life-gifting rays, allowing plants to grow, animals and people to be warm. The sun alone was able to restore the country from night and breathe life into it, allowing the continued existence of a people that needed it to thrive and watching over their lives all the while.

It reminded him of himself, in a way. He, above all others, understood the burden and challenge of nurturing a country back from destruction.

With a curt nod and a silent agreement to the golden giant, Ying Zheng turned and walked inside, drawing the golden curtains to his balcony behind him. He lifted his robes from the wall on his left and placed them over the simpler hemp-cloth undergarments he wore in the night, tying them with a golden sash. When he had first come to power in Qin years ago, the nobles were reluctant to follow a lord who wore the colors of an Emperor. Of course, he was merely wearing and acting like the very being that, in a small while, he would become.

Ying Zheng frowned as his thoughts turned to the day's tasks. There were the great pits outside the city, he had planned to see them that day. But as they had a habit of doing, his thoughts turned to the campaign against Chu and the last shoji standing before the imperial throne that was rightfully his. It would be so much easier if the Chu would just stand down. The war would inevitably end in his victory, but in the meantime the lives of good soldiers were wasted and his patience was tested.

His thoughts then turned to the yaoguai warrior that had been dispatched to deal with the Japanese allies the Chu had been harboring. Inuyasha, he recalled the creature's name was. He would make sure to at least give the beast the simple honor of being named when his scribes recorded his conquest of China. He was a yaoguai, and thus was not worthy of even that humble respect, but at least his actions would allow his campaign to be completed with minimal time. That was something.

He walked to the curtains of his chambers and walked out, casting an annoyed glare at the guards slumped against either wall. He knelt and picked up the dagger-axe one of them had dropped, and rapped the hilt on their helmets.

"Ah!" the one screamed, clutching his helmet. "What is…oh, my lord!" he quickly recognized who stood over him and bowed. His companion acted similarly.

"In the future, if you cannot protect me properly, then I shall send you out to the fields and find two who can," Ying Zheng said coldly.

"Forgive us, my lord," the other guard begged. Ying Zheng ignored him. Empty threats they might have been, but as long as no one knew that, they served his purposes.

"For now. Go and have one of my palanquins prepared, I will see the construction of the pits today," he ordered. The guards nodded and stood, running off to deliver the message. Ying Zheng entered his chambers again and opened his robe, placing a discreet piece of iron plate with a hemp rope over his neck. He was a lord, assassination attempts would be made, and he would be ready. He tucked his sword into his sash and slipped on his sandals.

He did want to make sure that the digging for the pits was going as planned, but in the end he had more important matters to attend to. The Chu and the Japanese obviously, not to mention the young beauty he had living under his care. Ying Zheng smiled at the thought. The maiden Kagome would most certainly be a lively addition to his court and his bed, although she was a little young and perhaps innocent. Not to mention the trouble with her yaoguai friend and the necessity for her favor.

Ying Zheng's eyes went wide, and he swept back to his balcony where the guards ran across the courtyard.

"You there!" he called. The guards stopped and turned to look up. "Have _two_ palanquins prepared, and send Ryuichi to my chambers at once," he shouted. The guards nodded and continued running. Ying Zheng turned and gathered a blank scroll with which to record the progress of the pits, his mind alive with delight at the reaction such work would surely get from his guest.

After all, what better way to display your power and authority to a woman than to show her the pits that were to become your tomb? When Kagome saw the labor and effort he commanded, no doubt she would also see that she would be privileged to be his concubine. He could picture her awe now.

- - - - - - - - - -

Kagome spent what was probably a few hours staring at the glowing square on the wall where the sunlight had shone through the window. What else was there to do? Ryuichi had made his orders, and therefore hers, clear. She was not to leave her room without him, and he would be both her acting servant and her guide for the time she was with them, until Inuyasha returned.

She wasn't uncomfortable, exactly. Her clothes were neatly folded and washed to lay by her bags, Ryuchi explaining that the lord had requested she wear proper noble attire during her stay. To that end she had been given a plain, pale tunic with no sleeves that hung down to her knees as an undergarment, and a deep crimson robe to wear over it with a matching sash. To say the garment wasn't nice would be a lie, it was very soft silk and in the modern era would likely fetch quite a price far beyond the means of a schoolgirl. But still, she was being forced to wear it, and that was not something that sat well with her. She wasn't in a cell anymore, but she was likely going to be treated as a prisoner one way or the other.

She had been fed, some sort of cooked meet with simple rice cakes and bread. She wasn't sure what kind of meat, although it hadn't tasted bad, and the rice cakes and bread were at least things she recognized. To say she was being treated badly would be wrong, but to say she felt safe wouldn't be very accurate either. Ryuichi had done nothing to betray her trust, and even if the charm around her neck made it so that the language barrier was no longer a problem, she felt more secure around him than anyone else in the castle. On the opposite end of the scale was the mysterious lord Ying Zheng she had only met once. Her books had been returned to her the day before and she had taken the opportunity to read up on the man that was easily one of the most famous – or infamous – men in Chinese history. The historians hadn't been kind to him, nor had the peasants he ruled once he died. Ryuichi had told her that Ying Zheng would unite the country and found a dynasty that would last a thousand years. She didn't have the heart to tell him it would barely last ten.

The shoji to her room slid back, and Kagome turned over in the small, primitive mattress she had slept on, or not. It was simple and made of some sort of material she couldn't identify, although it felt like it was stuffed with hay or something similar. Ryuichi had entered the room and bowed. Kagome was still in the pale undergarment as well as her own modern ones under that, but it was still strange lying in bed without a sheet to cover herself.

"Good day, Kagome," Ryuichi said, rising. He looked over his shoulder and nodded. Two servant girls came in behind him. One of them had a small box and the other lifted Kagome's red robe from where it hung on the wall. "Please, get dressed," Ryuichi explained. Kagome stood up and held out her arms as the second servant slipped the robe onto her. The other produced what looked a lot like a small comb from her box and moved behind her. Kagome blushed slightly as her robe was tied and her hair combed. It was kinda nice to be waited on, but it make her feel awkward at the same time.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, wincing as a knot in her hair caught the comb. From her history textbook she knew the Chinese were and would remain ahead of most of the rest of the world in the technology department, although Europe would catch up and eventually surpass them after the dawn of the Christian era. Still, she didn't suppose that they were advanced enough for hot water and shampoo. Would it really be interfering with history that much if she introduced the concept of a hot bath to them?

"Lord Ying Zheng has made a special request for you to accompany him on his travels today. We'll be escorting you to the palanquin that will take you there," Ryuichi explained. Kagome nodded as the servants finished, and the three followed Ryuichi out of the room. Kagome's brow furrowed as he led her to the courtyard and along the path. What could he possibly have to show her?

**Koumori – Bat**

**Neko – Cat**

**Palanquin – a chair or seat carried by poles on the shoulders of servants. Wikipedia can provide more details information.**

**Historical Notes**

**Yes, the Chinese used hemp, stop laughing. Actually, because it grows well in most climates and was resistant to mold and moisture, it was a premiere material for clothing, rope, shoes, etc. In later times centuries after Ying Zheng's day, it would also be dried and used as a form of paper.**

**Yup, China was unified and the Qin Dynasty founded in 221 BC, and the empire fell apart in 206 BC. The Han Dynasty that was founded soon after, though, was able to preserve much of China's unification including standardized writing, weight and measurement systems under a much more moderate government. They did slightly better than the Qin, ruling until 220 AD. The Han reign is considered a golden age in Chinese history and even in the modern world, "Han Chinese" is a very notable ethnic group, accounting for 19 percent of the world populace.**


	6. Magnificent, Isn't It?

Displacement

**Manga spoilers ahead, be warned.**

Chapter 6

"Magnificent, Isn't It?"

Inuyasha lay with his back against a boulder behind him, staring up at the sky with his hands clasped behind his head. He had stayed in that position most of the night.

"Oyaji's alive…" he whispered, not for the first time. He wasn't made of stone like his bastard of a half-brother, but Inuyasha wasn't one for excessive emotion. Never had been. But this was a rare occasion where he took the time to sort out how he felt and what he was going to do. It was one of the few times he realized that he had to think this through.

Once the initial shock had worn off, he had spent most of the night thinking about what the meeting had meant to him. He had never though about his father much. Sure, he _was_ his father, and he had left him Tetsusaiga. But beyond that, he didn't really care that much. He had accepted his father's death a long time ago when he was a kid and hadn't dwelled on it much. He'd shed his tears decades ago and didn't see any point in shedding more. On the other hand, he didn't see the point of walking away from this either.

For one thing, he trusted that asshole Ying whatever his name was, as much as he trusted Sesshomaru. There was no doubt that he could rescue Kagome in one slash of his claws and wipe out the Qin castle at the same time, but he couldn't. If Kagome was right, the Qin were supposed to flourish and changing history in ways he couldn't guess was on his list just under handing the jewel shards over to Naraku. And Kagome had told him she was going to try and convince him to help them get home, which _was_ high on his list. And killing his father wasn't something he wanted to do either, besides the fact he had no plans of doing that even if he could.

"So what do I do then?" he muttered. Returning to the castle and spiriting Kagome away to find out how to get home on their own was an appealing idea. And his father was…well, his father. He probably knew of a few tricks if his legacies to his sons were any indication, he might be able to help them. But then that would inevitably lead into Inuyasha revealing his true lineage, which was something he wasn't ready to do for a number of reasons.

Inuyasha spent another moment in thought before standing and setting off across the Chinese countryside. He reached the barrier and passed through without any hesitation. In the morning light, the camp and castle were more visible. The tents, firepits and awnings looked like they had been set in for a long stay. He walked forward and watched a few of the soldiers look up and reach for their weapons as he neared.

"Leave him be," a woman called. Inuyasha's ears swiveled as the neko Yuka emerged from the tents and regarded him carefully. "You're back," she muttered.

"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded.

"I'm assuming you wish to see my lord," Yuka asked. Inuyasha nodded again, and she turned to lead him to the doors of the castle. The shojis slid back by themselves, although Inuyasha wasn't sure how, and the inner room where he had met his father the night before came into view. His father sat there, studying a scroll with Chinese text on it.

"Ah, you returned," Toga said evenly, not looking up.

"Yeah, I guess…" Inuyasha replied. Toga kept studying the scroll before rolling it up.

"And what is it you require of me this time?" Toga asked. Inuyasha thought for a moment.

"I want to know what you're doing here," he said. Toga picked up another scroll from beside him and unfurled it.

"I do not see how that is any concern of yours," he replied.

"Well…a friend of mine needs help. If you can help us, I'll help you in return," Inuyasha offered. Toga turned a single molten eye his way.

"Oh? And just what is it you need?" he asked. Inuyasha took a breath.

"We're not from this area. We exist in another place years from now. We…we need to know how to get back," he explained. Toga kept his golden gaze on the hanyou for a moment without any visible reaction.

"So, you desire my power and knowledge on how to return you to your home, and offer assistance in my quest in exchange," he said. Inuyasha nodded, and Toga made a sound in the back of his throat. "The concept of traveling between different worlds is known to me. I am sure I could likely devise a solution to your problem given adequate time and information."

"Good," Inuyasha sighed. Trusting the Qin Lord hadn't been high priority to him ever since he first came here.

"But before that, as you offered, your services are now under my command," Toga continued. "And what you learn while in my service is not to be repeated."

"Yeah, no problem," Inuyasha agreed. Toga closed the scroll he was reading and stood. He put a hand to the sash on his hip and drew a sword. Inuyasha watched as his father held the sword up to his face for inspection, running a clawed finger along the blade. The blade looked very familiar.

"_Tenseiga," _Inuyasha thought. _"But that sword doesn't have the same aura that Sesshomaru's had. Why?"_

"While in Japan, I happened upon a youkai of the Void named Shishinki," Toga murmured. "The beast had the audacity to attack my mate while I was off on a hunt, and when I returned he attacked me. He had in his possession a sword technique called the Meidou Zangetsuha, which allowed him to create portals to Hell. Using the Tetsusaiga, I was able to turn back Shishinki's attacks and absorb the Meidou from him. The power of Hell was too great for Tetsusaiga to hold, especially with all its other powers, and I thus had a swordsmith shear off this Tenseiga to hold the Meidou while I perfected its technique."

_"That's right, the Tenseiga wasn't able to form a perfect Meidou when Totosai first reforged it. No matter how large a Meidou Sesshomaru cut, it was always an oval," _Inuyasha thought.

"This Tenseiga will allow me to temper the raw power of the Meidou without endangering the Tetsusaiga. Once the circle completes, the power should be easier to control, and I can thus return Tenseiga to the Tetsusaiga safely. I came here seeking a way to complete that circle," Toga finished.

_"Yeah, but that ain't gonna happen. Sesshomaru had to kill Shishinki before his Meidou could form a complete circle. That was the whole reason Oyaji gave him the Tenseiga in the first place, so he could perfect the Meidou." _Inuyasha remembered, frowning. It was a little strange to hear his father explain his quest when he knew perfectly well it would end in failure. It wouldn't be until decades after his death that Sesshomaru completed the technique his father couldn't.

"So you think you know how?" Inuyasha asked.

"I believe so. I will leave later this day with a scouting party. If you desire so, you may accompany me," Toga said. Inuyasha thought for a moment. He hadn't paid much attention to Shishinki when they fought, and he hadn't bothered to ask Myoga or Totosai about the details of the Tenseiga's relationship with the Tetsusaiga…

"Alright," he replied.

* * *

It was actually rather uncomfortable to be carried in the palanquin that Ryuichi had said Ying Zheng had picked out for her. For one thing, Kagome hated the fact she was being carried by other people. She had been going along with the charade for the time being so Ying Zheng wouldn't be offended, but the way he kept flaunting and abusing his power was getting tiring. Hopefully Inuyasha would complete whatever errand Ryuichi had claimed he'd been sent on and return soon so they could focus on a way to get home. Obviously they would have to do it on their own, Ying Zheng and his people had been no help at all.

"We are here." Kagome jumped as the palanquin lowered, and Ryuichi appeared at the side of the device with a hand out. Kagome took it and stepped down out of the cart, looking back at the two soldiers who had carried her. They had kept their heads low, but beads of sweat ran down their foreheads, and they were discreetly gasping. Kagome frowned and stepped towards the front one.

"Ah, Lady Kagome." Kagome stopped as the man she recognized as the Qin Lord smiled towards her. Ying Zheng had on a long yellow cloak over a smaller yellow tunic with something underneath she couldn't make out. He held out a hand to beckon her forward, and Kagome quickly leaned down to the man in front of her palanquin.

"When we go back, I'm walking," she whispered. The man lifted his head to stare at her as she walked up to Ying Zheng and did a quick bow. "Lord," she replied. Ying Zheng's smile grew, and her put a hand around her shoulder. Kagome stiffened at such a familiar touch from a man she had seen exactly twice, but fortunately he didn't seem to notice.

"Please, Lady Kagome, there is no need to be formal around me," Ying Zheng chuckled, leading her along the path. "Feel free to speak my name whenever you address me. In fact, I request it," he cast her a pointed glance, and Kagome inwardly scowled. 'Feel free' was obviously code for 'do it now'.

"Thank you, Lord Ying Zheng," she muttered. First his radiant shows of authority and now his unnerving familiarity with her. This guy was starting to annoy her.

"Thank _you_. Now, I have something I would to show you. Please, close your eyes." Kagome blinked and looked up at him. "Do not be alarmed, I assure you I mean you no harm, this is a pleasant surprise," Ying Zheng insisted. Kagome took a breath and shut her eyes, but kept them open a sliver to watch whatever he was doing. The pressure at her shoulders guided her forward, and she fell into step beside the Qin Lord. They walk forward for a few moments before the pressure eased and his other hand came to stop her.

"That is far enough," Ying Zheng instructed. "Now, please. Open your eyes and gaze upon the future site of the Qin royal tomb and the vast army that will protect it."

Kagome opened her eyes more, and they quickly went wide as saucers. Beside her, Ying Zheng's lips followed suit.

Stretching before them was a gigantic pit. The ground suddenly ended and fell away in a hole so large it looked like you could fit the entire palace in it and have room left over. And room left above it, not only was the hole long and wide, but it was deep too, deep enough that a fall would likely be fatal. But the hole wasn't just a simple cube of dirt cut from the earth, no. It was uneven on the ground, the walls were slanted outwards, and piles and ramps of dirt were packed all along the perimeter.

And inside the pit looking disturbingly like ants, were men. Thousands of them were working below. Crude metal spades dug into the dirt, baskets of dirt were carried out of the pit on dirt ramps, wheelbarrows with more dirt ran up and down them. Kagome stared in disbelief. The work on the gigantic pit was efficient, organized, and utterly horrifying.

This pit was being dug for the tomb of only one man. You could build a city inside the hole he had, and from the looks of it the equivalent of a city was working on making the hole deeper. The men were filthy, sweaty, malnourished, and obviously tired. And what about their families, how many of them had been conscripted from loving families, wives, children, parents, siblings, to work to make a glorified grave for this man.

Suddenly, all the pieces clicked into place, the reason why Ying Zheng was so controversial to historians was made clear. The man had slaughtered thousands in the name of unification, destroyed any forms of math, communication, measurement, language or government that opposed his own. And those that survived his rampage were either conscripted into the army or conscripted into the labor force and forced to work themselves to the bone for a man that didn't care about any of them.

There was no controversy about the man standing beside her. He was a monster, a tyrant, plain and simple. Ying Zheng hadn't unified China, he had conquered it, there was no unity, there was only obedience. How could anyone serve this man out of anything less than fear when they saw what he was doing to his own people? He killed those who defied him without thought and those that served him loyally were bound to enforce unfair laws. And anyone who was not fit to be a noble or a government official or a soldier was sent to work on constructing not only this but who knew how many over lavish monuments for him.

The Lord of Qin was literally working his people, his country, to the death.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Ying Zheng asked. Kagome discreetly clenched her fist. Magnificent? Was the man insane to find any sort of satisfaction in ordering his loyal followers to work themselves day and night on this sort of project? How could anyone do this to even a single person and not be anything but disgusted with themselves? Kagome swallowed heavily and fought to keep from turning and pulling the Qin Lord into the pit. Very few people she had ever met had ever earned hatred from her, had ever registered as being so foul and vile that they deserved nothing but death. Naraku had been one. And Ying Zheng had just become another. Any man who did this to people had no right to exist when they forced such hardships on others for their own glory.

"I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it," she answered carefully, keeping her response neutral. Ying Zheng chuckled again, and Kagome tore her eyes away from the pit. "I would like to return to the castle, my lord," she growled, barely able to form the title. This man was no lord, this man was nothing but a butcher.

"Of course. Ryuichi, Lady Kagome will return to the palace, have the palanquin ready," he called.

"My legs are stiff from sitting in there on the way here. I would rather walk," Kagome replied. Ying Zheng gave a small grunt, but nodded. Kagome turned and all but stomped away, the two men who had carried her palanquin flanking her. Ryuichi stood silently as she left, turning his head as Ying Zheng stopped beside him.

"I think that went quite well," he mused. Ryuichi watched him smile yet again and kept his tongue in check. His lord may not have seen the young woman's fist as she surveyed the tomb.

But he had.

**Oyaji – rude, loose term for Father. I think an accurate comparison would be referring to your father as "old man", but I'm not sure.**

**Yes, this takes place after the Shishinki arc, Inuyasha is completely aware of Tenseiga's true purpose. However, this is _before_ he absorbs the Meidou from Tenseiga. So, after he learns about Tenseiga, before he absorbs it.**


	7. The Strong Shall Reign

Displacement

**As of right now, an official timeframe for this story has been set. This story takes place after chapter 494 of the manga, but prior to chapter 496. 494 is the last time Kagome returned to her time in the manga, and it was in 493 and the chapters prior that Sesshomaru fought Shishinki. It is in chapters 499 and on that he fights Inuyasha, and Tenseiga is absorbed into Tetsusaiga. This has not yet happened in my story.**

**Thus, all events in this story will be treated as occurring prior to chapter 496. Any events afterwards in the manga have not yet happened in the story. While previously the timeframe was meant to be flexible, this is no longer the case as my decision regarding what manga events have and haven't happened in my story created quite a small area for my story to fit into.**

**Finally, I admit that there is a plothole in my story. In the manga, Kohaku has the final shard of the Jewel, and in my story, Kagome has two of them. Well, let's just say they're Kouga's, and Kagome nabbed them from Naraku during the last big battle with him. I know, but Kagome possessing the shards is vital to the story, so, I'm abusing my artistic license here.**

Chapter 7

"The Strong Shall Reign"

The shoji slid back, and Kagome all but ran into the room she had been assigned. She spun, slid the shoji back into place, and quickly began untying the crimson sash holding her robes together.

"That arrogant, barbaric, violent…UGH!" she couldn't even formulate a proper insult for the Lord of Qin as she slid the silken robes off her shoulders and rushed to her backpack at the side of the room, grabbing her blouse and skirt from beside it and quickly pulling them on. Although she knew it was irrational, she had no further intent of wearing the elegant robes of the palace anymore.

"Lady Kagome," Ryuichi called, entering the room as Kagome finished buttoning up her blouse. "I…oh. Is something wrong?" he asked. Kagome scowled but didn't turn around.

"I'm leaving the palace. You can give your _lord _my regards,"she replied, the title leaving a bad taste in her mouth. She stood and turned around, setting her face in a blank look. Ryuichi's was surprisingly similar. She would have expected something, shock, agreement, anger, anything.

"May I ask why you are leaving?" he said.

"I'm leaving because your lord has not helped me anymore than he's helping his people," she explained. She lifted her backpack onto her shoulder and headed towards the door. Ryuichi didn't move and sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"When the Zhou Dynasty reigned over this land, they decreed they were destined to rule by the Mandate of Heaven. The Gods had chosen the most virtuous, wise and kind to lead, and in time they would be deposed and replaced as more competent leaders overthrew them. This ensured that only the most fit and worthy would rule."

"Nice idea. Did someone forget to tell your boss?" Kagome muttered. Ryuichi nodded before continuing.

"It is sad that we must rule through death and conquest. Were there another way to unify this land, I would surely take it, and I like to believe my Lord would as well. But for centuries now the many states of China have raged war on one another, and the former kings of the Zhou grew weak and powerless. The land did not even have a true name before my Lord bestowed the title China upon it. Language, math, currency, writing, it will all be unified and standardized under my Lord's rule when he at last conquers the country."

"Unification is nice, but it shouldn't have to come at such a high cost," Kagome defended. "How can he claim he is unifying the people when his army is killing those same people in battle?"

"Peace is never easy to obtain. As with all things worth having it has a price to be paid," Ryuichi agreed.

"And how high can that price be before the award isn't worth it anymore?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi stared at her for a moment before smiling and chuckling.

"It is sad for the Chinese people you did not come to them some centuries earlier. A young woman with your ideals would have been valued. Even Shang Yang himself would be pleased," he said.

"Look, you can't tell me I can't leave. If I want to I'll go, and I don't care what your Lord wants," Kagome said, remembering how their conversation had started.

"I admit that my Lord has not been entirely helpful to you. I must also admit that he does not entirely desire to help you. To be perfectly frank, he wishes that you remain here," Ryuich explained. "My lord has demonstrated an…attraction to you."

"Like I'd ever want someone like him," Kagome grimaced. The Qin Lord was handsome in a way, but he was a wicked ruler. "Besides, I already have…" Kagome trailed off. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Kikyo had been dead for a little while now, and there had been no indication on Inuyasha's part that he had any intention of pursuing a relationship with her. Well, there was the incident in her bedroom when Souta came home the last time they had been in her time before ending up here, along with the countless other hints over the years. She was sure the hanyou felt more than friendship for her, but obviously Kikyo hadn't been the only thing been keeping the hanyou from confirming her suspicions.

"Already have…what?" Ryuichi prompted. Kagome shook her head.

"No, it's nothing, forget it," she replied. Ryuichi gave her a knowing look.

"It is not my place to offer words on any sort of relationship you may or may not have, but in my experience, any sort of feeling should not be bottled up, even if it is one we'd rather not have known," he told her. Kagome snorted.

"You're right, it isn't your place," she said. "It's a complicated matter, Ryuichi, and I've dealt with it on my own just fine for years."

"Very well. I will respect your wish for privacy, Lady Kagome, but in return I request something of you," Ryuichi replied. Kagome eyed him warily. Ryuichi had not given her any reasons to distrust him, but on there was no telling what he might do.

"What?' Kagome asked after a moment.

"I ask that you stay," Ryuichi said simply. Kagome opened her mouth to decline, bur Ryuichi was not finished. "If you leave, you must be aware that my Lord will forth his armies to find you. And without your yaoguai friend to assist you I fear you will be caught. It is better for you to remain here until the yaoguai returns. And, if you desire, I will begin looking for a way to return you to my home myself," he finished. Kagome stared at him for a moment.

"Why would you help me?" she asked. Ryuichi gave her a strange smile.

"I have my reasons," he replied. Kagome continued to stare even as the Qin adviser bowed and left her alone in the room.

* * *

"It will take us several days to reach the Han state. Unfortunately, the shrine I seek is far beyond their borders and we thus have to be careful upon entering their territory to avoid any suspicion. We must avoid being discovered lest we arose the ire of the Qin occupying the state.

Inuyasha paid close attention as Toga explained their mission, letting the youkai reiterate what he said to the humans too far behind to hear. Their band consisted of Toga, Inuyasha, the neko guard Yuka, a male kitsune named Oinari, a female koumori named Hanashi, a few other youkai he hadn't met, and several dozen human warriors. There were several horses following them carrying food, weapons, and other supplies. The bulk of Toga's army had been left to defend the camp, as a smaller band would be easier to keep discreet.

"Exactly what do you think you will find there, my lord?" Yuka asked. She had taken up position just behind and to the right of Toga. Inuyasha was directly behind him and just behind Yuka. The various humans were walking about in no particular formation.

"Song Shan is venerated by the Taoists of the area. One of the Taoists' common beliefs is balance, tempering a force with an equal but opposite force. If my Meidou is to be harnessed properly, I am sure that one of the priests there will have a way," Toga explained. Yuka nodded and did not speak more.

"You really believe the priests there will want to help you?" Inuyasha muttered. Toga made a sound of annoyance. Inuyasha ignored it. The man was his father, but he wasn't going to tip-toe around talking with him.

"Yes. You underestimate the Taoists, Inuyasha. They are exceptionally wise for humans, and even for youkai. They know much of the nature of things. The Taoists do not hate the youkai for they understand we must exist. As the humans exist, so must we, their opposite, exist," Toga said.

"You believe that too?" Inuyasha asked, walking a little faster to stand beside Toga.

"Perhaps not, but there is some truth in such a belief. It is the way of all things, Inuyasha, that in the end, strength wins out over weakness. In the end, the strong shall reign. They may rule by strength of mind, or strength of sword, or strength of heart. But one way or the other, it is by strength that armies are built, leaders come to power and states put up their walls."

"I don't see what that has to do with humans and youkai," Inuyasha said, confused.

"Don't you? We youkai are strong. We are superior to the humans, most of them, anyway, in every way that counts. We are stronger, wiser, long-lived, and we do not fight over petty squabbles like land or glory. It is the destiny of the two races to one to reign over the other. In time, the humans will come to understand that the youkai are most fit to rule them, and the youkai will see that they in turn must accept and fulfill this duty," Toga explained.

"You think we have the right to wipe out the humans?" Inuyasha asked, trying and barely succeeding in hiding his surprise. How could his father say such a thing.

"No, of course not. Humans are an irritating sort, but they have as much right to live as any other creature. But to ensure their survival and prosperity, in time we youkai will have to protect them from themselves. Surely you can understand, looking at what is happening in these lands now. These humans and their states have raged war for centuries and only now does the war seem to near its end. But in time the Qin will fall and war will begin again. Left to their own designs the humans will descend into barbarianism. We youkai exist to ensure that does not happen, to protect them and make sure they survive. We are to be leaders, the humans to be our followers. As I said, strength shall always triumph over weakness, it is the way of all things."

Inuyasha was silent for a moment. Youkai weren't as superior to humans as Toga had said. Youkai raged wars too, often for the same reasons as humans – greed, honor, glory, or just the thrill of the kill. However, there was one thing in his grand design that his father had not mentioned.

"And where do hanyous come into all that?" he asked. Toga frowned, not missing the hint of challenge in Inuyasha's voice. "If humans are supposed to exist to balance against youkai, then what are hanyous for?" Inuyasha continued, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. But he hadn't been pulling punches with the old man himself, and he didn't want him to either.

"Hanyous? That is not of my concern," Toga said, waving his hand. "Humans and youkai mating is not something I am unaware of, obviously. But it is not my place to dispense judgment on them. The mating of a human and a youkai is an irregularity, to be sure. But beyond that, let the kami decide."

Inuyasha frowned. He was fairly certain his father had all but avoided answering his question. He shook it off and fell back behind his father again. He reminded himself this man was some fifteen hundred years younger than the man who mated Izayoi and fathered an inu-hanyou.

"Do not misunderstand me," Toga said suddenly, surprising him. "Hanyous are living creatures and deserve the same freedoms as humans. But it is not a matter of deserving freedom, it is also a matter of earning it. Hanyou must earn it as humans and even youkai must."

"I've earned everything I have. I've been on my own my entire life and I've fought hard to get this far," Inuyasha said harshly. Toga nodded.

"Then you have earned your right to exist," he amended, casting the hanyou a glance. Inuyasha nodded back and fell silent as the procession of human, youkai, and lone hanyou continued to the State of Han beyond the horizon.

**The Mandate of Heaven was an official Chinese belief started sometime in the Zhou Dynasty, which ended with the Warring States Era approximately 900 years before the Qin Dynasty was form. The Mandate decreed that anyone who was wise and virtuous, regardless of if he was a peasant or a noble, had the right to rule the Chinese people. However, if the ruler was cruel and selfish, the people had the right to rebel against him and place a more worthy ruler on the throne in his steed. The belief was forgotten after the Zhou Dynasty and revived in the late 900's AD by the Song Dynasty. Sadly, the Qin Dynasty possessed no such belief.**

**Shang Yang was a Qin official about a century before Ying Zheng's time. By using varying taxes to encourage the growth of families and the allowance of immigration, as well as a series of penalties and rewards to the people based on the performance of farmers and soldiers, he turned Qin around and began to turn it into a prosperous state, giving power to people and taking it from the nobles. Because of the effect his reforms had on the state, it is more than likely that it was his laws that made Qin into the strongest state by the end of the Warring States Era and thus, made Qin strong enough for Ying Zheng to begin his conquest.**

**Song Shan, shan meaning "mountain", is one of five mountains held sacred in Taoism in China, although the exact date of when it became known as such, I could not discover. It lies along the Yellow River, which did indeed cut through the Han State in the Warring States Era/Qin Dyntasy. The mountain still houses a shrine today.**


	8. You Know Nothing

Displacement

Chapter 8

"You Know Nothing"

The sky was getting darker as the sun crept down on the horizon, signaling the day's end. Toga lifted a hand and sniffed the air as the group came to a halt behind him.

"We shall make camp here for the night," he announced. "This area has not been passed by humans in several days. We should be safe from roaming patrols here for a night."

The humans began to unload the equipment, and the resident youkai quickly began setting up the tents. Within a few minutes, the poles and tarp for the largest of the tents was up, and Toga entered it. Inuyasha just stood and watched, unsure of what was expected of him, as Yuka supervised the distribution of the meat packs to the humans. She caught sight of him and scowled.

"Well, come on! Don't stand around looking pretty!" she snapped. Inuyasha glared and marched over to one of the trios of humans struggling with the poles of a tent. With a single smooth motion, he snatched the tent poles from their hands and drove them into the ground. He repeated the motion with the second set and then tossed the tarp over them. Yuka watched him with a frown.

"You have a real attitude problem," she muttered as the hanyou approached her.

"It's a pressing concern to me, it really is," Inuyasha shot back, folding his hands inside his sleeves. Yuka shook her head and grabbed a handful of firewood and dried plants from the pack of one of the horses. She made a quick firepit among the tents and unsheathed her sword. She ran her claws along the edge of the blade a few times. Sparks flew onto the dead plants, and a few minutes later, a fire blazed. Yuka casually sheathed her sword and blew off her claws.

"Effective," Inuyasha admitted, sitting across from her. Yuka eyed him as he watched a few humans skewer choice pieces of meat and place them on spits over the fire. Finally, Inuyasha growled and glared at her. "What?" he snapped.

"I heard your conversation with Lord Toga today," Yuka said evenly, meeting his gaze without flinching. "Why do you express such concern for the humans?" Inuyasha furrowed his brow.

"They have the right to live, same as everyone else," he replied. Yuka snorted.

"You're a hanyou. Humans have feared and tried to kill you your entire life. Why spare them any mercy when they spared none for you?" she asked. Inuyasha scowled.

"What the hell would you know about being a hanyou?" he snapped. "Yeah, I lived with humans. I've seen them run away from me just because I tripped on a tree root. And I've been to war-torn villages that looked at me like a savior just because I didn't slice their throats upon seeing them. What the fuck's your point?"

"You've willingly helped them?" Yuka muttered, shaking her head. "Humans are nothing. Lord Toga believes they deserve to live. I know better."

"They _do_ deserve that, why the hell wouldn't they?" Inuyasha snarled. Neither the inu-hanyou or the neko-youkai noticed that work on the campsite had slowed to watch their debate.

"Because if humans have their way they'll kill each other over and over until their entire species is extinct," Yuka said coldly. "Why save the lives of people who only plan to use those lives to go to war? Either by our claws or their neighbor's swords, humans die. Why should we spare them a second thought?"

"Just because we _can_ kill them doesn't mean we should," Inuyasha said. He wasn't entirely sure why Yuka had picked a verbal fight with him, but he wasn't backing down. He hadn't liked the whole 'prissier-than-thou' attitude from Sesshomaru and any number of other youkai he had met, and he wasn't liking it from Yuka either.

"You heard my lord. It is our right to rule them, and if we see them as enemies to be dispatched, then it shall be so," Yuka growled. "You know nothing of humans. I don't know how a hanyou can be subjected to such cruelty and still refrain from slaughtering them. I pity you. Your naiveté will be your undoing someday, when a human holds their blade to your throat. We shall see what mercy you can show him then." With that, Yuka turned and prompted marched into one of the tents, tossing out the original occupant of it a moment later. Inuyasha watched her go with a scowl.

"Nosy bitch," he muttered.

"Forgive her."

Inuyasha looked up as a youkai sat across from him where Yuka had been. He wore a long teal robe with no sleeves that puddle on the ground as he sat. A yellow sash around his waist tied it shut over light brown hakama and a yellow kosodo underneath. The youkai's hair was bright red and fell past his shoulders in thick curls, and his eyes were a dark blue. A large, bushy orange tail stuck out from a slit in the robe. He didn't really look or smell that old, Inuyasha figured he couldn't have been much older than him, maybe a few decades or so.

"You're that kitsune Oinari, right?" Inuyasha asked. Oinari nodded.

"Yes. I believe we met earlier today, although I did not have time to properly introduce myself," he said. "I am a kitsune currently under the servitude of Lord Toga. I came merely to see this land and to assist a yellow youkai tame such a dangerous power as the Meidou."

"Uh…huh," Inuyasha muttered, narrowing his eyes. The youkai was practically a kid, why the hell was talking so formally? "Do you always talk like that?" Inuyasha asked. Oinari's shoulders slumped.

"Hell no," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "It's just some sort of crap Toga told us, something about proper conduct or something. It's just a drag, really, I mean besides you we haven't exactly been going around meeting the public, you know?" Oinari sighed and leaned back against his back.

"Whatever," Inuyasha replied. "What were you saying about Yuka?"

"Don't judge her. I know her. She's one of the chieftans of a tribe of neko in alliance to the inus back in Japan," Oinari explained. "She is loyal to him, though. Although many of the humans here were conscripted or came for promises of money for their services, Toga handpicked Yuka from the available youkai to accompany him. Believe me, she's more than capable of handling herself in combat. I wouldn't piss her off if I were you."

"Well I wouldn't have to if she wouldn't be such a bitch," Inuyasha growled, glaring at the tent where the object of his anger was. "What the fuck is her problem anyway? She sits down here, starts lecturing me on how I should feel about humans and why they deserve to die. I don't need her telling me how I should act."

"She has reasons for being that way," Oinari sighed. "Before Yuka took his place, her brother was a chieftan in the neko tribe."

"Oh yeah? What happened to him?" Inuyasha asked, not really interested but willing to find out.

"He was killed by humans," Oinari said. Inuyasha let out a bark.

"Keh, what kind of weak youkai was he if he got taken down by humans?" he scoffed.

"He was killed by them because he tried to avoid killing them," Oinari explained. "I have heard pieces of the story from other members of Toga's court before coming here. Toga knows the full story, but Yuka does not speak of it. Just know she has reasons for hating humans."

"Yeah, and I have reasons for sparing them. My mother was a human, and when my dad died she had to take care of me alone in a village where we were both outcasts," Inuyasha replied. "But I don't talk about it much either."

"I do not expect you to. Your past is yours to have, and share when you want. It's not my place to pry," Oinari shrugged. Inuyasha nodded. At least Oinari seemed ok.

"What about you?" Inuyasha said suddenly. Oinari grinned.

"Well, I _am_ a kitsune," he reminded with a wink. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I prefer humans myself, they're a lot nicer than some of the youkai women I meet. You'd be amazed how many human women consider shape-shifting a turn on." Inuyasha's eyes went wide, and Oinari shrugged.

"So you're a lecher?" Inuyasha muttered dryly.

"I've been called that, along with a few other choice names," Oinari chuckled. "I've had to use my powers for purposes other than impressing women. Human men can be more possessive than the youkai ones sometimes. I mean, as far as the women know it's not cheating, I _look_ like their betrothed at the time, and how am I supposed to know, it's not like they give me warnings or-"

"Oinari." Oinari's grin vanished, and he looked up at the stoic and stern face of Toga. "That is enough. Every youkai in the camp can hear you, and we don't need details of yours sexual misadventures," Toga glared. Oinari blushed and nodded, coughing into his hand. "Now, you and Inuyasha will take first watch of the camp. I've sent a few of the humans out on patrols since we won't be here long enough for a barrier. Alert us if anything is amiss," Toga continued. Inuyasha and Oinari nodded, and Toga returned to his tent as the rest of the camp settled down for the night. Oinari stood and stretched.

"Well, you heard the dog," he sighed, grabbing a spear and hefting it over his shoulder. "I'm gonna take a walk, don't do anything fun while I'm gone." Oinari turned while Inuyasha snorted.

"You're right," he said. Oinari turned. "You are a kitsune," Inuyasha explained. Oinari shrugged and smirked before he kept walking, his clothes turning dark until he was a speck a few minutes later. Inuyasha leaned back his head and put his hands back, staring up at the stars and listening to any signs of trouble.

* * *

"I must say I do not understand the reason she would desire to be among those peasants. She can find far better company in the palace," Ying Zheng muttered. Ryuichi nodded.

"Yes, my lord. However, she is still a guest in our lands and desires to see the world beyond the palace walls. As well, being that she is so eager to go, allowing her to do so will surely curb good favor from her," he replied. Ryuchi watched his lord's face light up at the thought.

"Very well, I suppose," Ying Zheng sighed, waving a hand. "It is late and I wish to rest. I shall send two guards to escort her about the village tomorrow when she desires."

"She also desires I go with her, my lord," Ryuichi interrupted. Ying Zheng snorted.

"Fine, but if she comes to any harm or escapes, know it will be your head, Ryuichi," he warned. Ryuichi nodded. "Now, leave. The night is growing old." Ryuichi left, and Ying Zheng began to change for his bedrest. Outside on the path to his own quarters, Ryuichi was deep in thought.

He knew perfectly well what Ying Zheng had planned for Kagome and the hanyou Inuyasha. However, loyal though he was to his lord, he knew when he went too far. The two innocents had done nothing and did not deserve their fates as concubine and corpse. He had told Kagome of a Taoist in the village that was not entirely in favor of Ying Zheng's rule. The Taoists in the palace could not be trusted, any one of them would turn them in for a quick string of coin.

Ryuichi wondered for a moment how successful Inuyasha's efforts had been. The hanyou had claimed he could be back in a few days, but the days had come and gone and he had not. Ryuichi was in no hurry for him to return, not until he found a way to help them. And he knew that Ying Zheng had plans to dispatch the hanyou should he return, so he preferred he take his time. Still…

Ryuichi reached the doors of the noble part of the palace and waited while the vigilant guards opened the doors for him. He gave them a nod and headed for his room. After the stressing events of the day, sleep would be welcome for him. Going behind Lord Ying Zheng's back was to play a very dangerous game. And Ryuichi had never liked games very much as a child.

**A poll has been created in my profile, where you can vote on your fav OC of mine! Yuka is there, along with Raijin and Kagemusha from my other Inuyasha stories, and some of my Yugioh OCs. Yuka, and to a lesser extent Oinari, will be prominent OCs in this story. Yuka will have a deeper backstory, but Oinari will be a little comic relief now and then.**

**As well, forgive the unusual formatting of my AN. The Document Manager is giving me a hard time with formatting recently.**

**Hakama: pants**

**Kosodo: shirt**


	9. You Are Welcome to Try

Displacement

Chapter 9

"You Are Welcome to Try"

Inuyasha crossed his arms, impatient. Toga had called the procession to a halt around mid-day, and they had remained still while a human army on the horizon came closer. He was sure it was only a few minutes, maybe ten, but it was too long for him. A quick glance behind him confirmed what his ears picked up; the humans were pulling out iron and leather shields, taking out clothes to reveal the armor underneath. Yuka had whirled her hair into a bun, and Oinari had tied his robe tighter. Toga was as a statue and made not a single move.

Finally, the company of enemy soldiers halted. Most of them had large, bulky shields and spears and swords. It was a small army, only a hundred men or so. A few dozen were on horses. One of them rode forward and reared his horse a few feet in front of Toga, looking down at him.

"Identify yourselves!" he commanded. Toga looked up at him with a blank stare.

"By whose authority am I required to answer?" he replied. The rider glared.

"By the authority of Prince Liu Bang of Han, loyal servant to Lord Ying Zheng of Qin," the rider snapped.

"Very well. I am Lord Toga of Japan, here on a expedition," Toga said. "We desire not to fight or cause trouble. Let us pass and you will hear of us not again." Inuyasha watched his father negotiate out of the corner of his eyes. The rider stared at Toga before lifting a hand. A soldier from the army stepped forward and held up a small box. The rider took it and opened it, withdrawing a small jade pendant.

"You will be allowed to pass, Lord Toga. If only you will indulge me," the rider said, dangling the pendant in the air. "My son is a fool and bartered an entire bushel of millet for this mere trinket. I would like you to appraise it and see if you can determine more of its value than I could," the rider finished, and Toga held out his hand. The rider smiled and tossed the pendant forward. Toga's hand moved to snatch it out of the air. As Inuyasha watched, the pendent flashed in his father's hand, and smoke began to curl up from his fist. Toga's eyes narrowed as he ground the jade to powder, the skin on his palm singed.

"That pendant, Lord Toga of the yaoguai, is but one sample of the holy powers the Han priestess possess," the rider chuckled. Inuyasha began to growl as the army moved quickly to surround the small troupe. "We will give you a single chance to turn and return to Japan, or we shall cut you down now and leave but one of your men alive to tell tale of your defeat," the rider threatened.

"You are welcome to try, and you shall receive the same courtesy from me when you fail," Toga replied coolly. The rider let out a battle cry and reared his horse. Toga's hand whirled to his hip, and with a flash, the Tenseiga flashed through the air. The horse's head toppled to the ground as the rest of the body spasmed and the rider fell to the ground. Inuyasha stared in shock.

_"The Tenseiga can cut?" _he thought.

The signal was sent, and the army charged forward. Inuyasha spun and slashed, rending apart the armor of two soldiers and cleaving their spears in two. Another leapt over their bodies and he raised his sleeve to block his sword, being pushed back slightly. He found his back pressed up against something, and saw a stray tendril of red hair land on his shoulder.

"Now would be a good time to get over that killing humans crap," Yuka snarled, slashing her sword and striking down a soldier. Inuyasha growled back in response and leapt, punching one soldier to the ground in mid-jump and kicking another as he landed. He spun around and stared at the battle. Oinari was…everywhere. A dozen or more copies of the kitsune littered the battlefield, sparring with the soldiers alongside Toga's men. Every now and then, one of the Oinaris vanished in a puff of smoke. But the kitsune's illusions were buying time and drawing attacks from the humans. Yuka was backflipping, leaping and perform all manner of acrobatics, effortlessly cutting down opponents.

But what surprised Inuyasha the most was his father. Toga was holding of what looked to be a dozen or more men by himself. In his right hand was the Tenseiga, and in the left was the untransformed Tetsusaiga, looking very much like the Tenseiga, a gleaming katana. If not for the youki bleeding off the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha doubted he could tell the difference. Toga wielded the twin blades with the ease of a master swordsman, swinging and parrying attacks in the blink of an eye, then deflecting and counter-attacking. The blades flashed and waved in the air like liquid steel, but the look on Toga's face was one of absolute calm and confidence. The man was a slow-motion whirlwind of silver and white.

As Inuyasha watched, he realized that Toga's opponents were moving once stricken, and Toga's wrists flipped the swords milliseconds before they impacted to hit with the flat of the blade instead of the edge. He deflected a spear with Tetsusaiga and swung towards the soldier's face with the Tenseiga, twisting the blade and smacking him hard with the flat, sending him tumbling backwards with a cry but not seriously hurting him.

_"He could wipe them out easily with one blast from the Tetsusaiga," _Inuyasha thought, turning back to his own battle. _"So what is he doing?"_Inuyasha ducked a blade and landed an uppercut, sending the man flying back to the ground. He continued to parry opposing blades and land his own blows. He spun and kicked a soldier away, sending him rolling on the ground in pain.

"That's enough!"

Toga's voice came sharp and clear over the clashes of metal, and Inuyasha turned. The army had more than half their number dead, and what was left looked severely wounded. Toga picked up the nearest survivor and held him to eye level.

"You will return to your prince and tell him you failed to defeat us," he commanded. The soldier nodded, and Toga dropped him, looking to the side as the rest of the soldiers weakly began to retreat, to the confusion of Toga's allies.

"My lord, what are we doing?" Yuka hissed. "We should finish them while we have a chance!" A few of the straggling soldiers look at her fearfully, but Toga didn't even turn an eye.

"Death is not the only way to defeat an enemy, Yuka. These men have lost the battle and their honor," he explained. "There is no point is slaying an opponent that has already lost."

"They will acquire reinforcements and come for us again!" Yuka protested.

"Then we shall defeat them again!" Toga snarled, glaring at her. Yuka stepped back and bowed.

"Forgive me, my lord," she whispered. "It is not my place to question you."

"I value a fighter who wonders on the morality of their orders, Yuka," Toga replied. "But curiosity over orders and outright defiance are not the same. Do not confuse them in the future." Yuka nodded. "Now, Oinari, Asuka, see to the wounded. Everyone else, repack your weapons. We shall continue onward in a hour." Everyone began to see to Toga's orders as Inuyasha walked up to his father.

"You could have killed them all in one blast from the Tetsusaiga," Inuyasha accused.

"Yes, I could have," Toga nodded. "The kaze-no-kizu would have easily slain their forces."

"Then why didn't you use it?" Inuyasha asked. Toga stared at him blankly.

"You have much to learn about the nature of being a taiyoukai, Inuyasha. Temperance is the key to a good rule. The same blade that cuts down your foes should also be able to turn them aside. The same hand that grants your enemies death must be able to grant them mercy."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha muttered, not entirely getting the point.

"Why must I kill them so easily? They have trained hard to become soldiers, and they serve their master loyally," Toga explained. "They deserved to die in honorable combat, not in a wave of youki with no defense. Their master will be distraught, but his men were dispatched in battle, and that is all any warrior desires when death comes for them. I would rather die fighting a battle I cannot win than lying on a bed coughing."

Inuyasha's face suddenly fell, and Toga frowned. The boy looked like he had been physically struck in the chest.

_"Yeah, and you will too," _Inuyasha thought, staring at his father. _"You'll almost die killing Ryokotsusei, and you'll limp to my mother's side just in time to name me before Takemaru kills you. What was going through you're mind when you challenged either of them? Did you expect to die sealing Ryokotsusei, or did you expect to win? Either way, the wounds the dragon inflicted on you ended up weakening you enough for Takemaru to finish you off when you attacked the castle…"_

"What's wrong?" Toga asked. Inuyasha shook his head.

"It's nothing," Inuyasha replied. "Shouldn't we get packing?" Toga narrowed his eyes. The boy's scent had changed inexplicably, tinged with sadness and guilt. What could he possible have said to spark such a change?

"Are you ok?" Toga sniffed, and nodded as Oinari approached him from behind.

"I am fine Oinari. If something was amiss I would inform you if I felt the need to," Toga said gruffly.

"With all due respect my lord, if anyone, I am a master of deceptions," Oinari replied. Toga turned his head, and Oinari followed his gaze to the red-clad hanyou wandering the camp.

"Then perhaps you could decipher his deceptions for me," Toga muttered, nodding his head towards Inuyasha. Oinari raised a thick eyebrow.

"You believe he is lying to you about something?" he asked. Toga sucked in a breath.

"I am many things, Oinari. But one thing I am not is a fool," he explained. "Inuyasha claims to be from a time long after ours, wields a sword in the image of my Tetsusaiga, and is the son of an inu-youkai taiyoukai." Toga tapped his chin and narrowed his eyes. "I believe in dualism and moderation, Oinari. But not coincidence."

**I apologize if I got the facts on the Inu-no-Taisho's death incorrect. As I have read, Ryukotsusei mortally wounded him, and he rushed to Takemaru's castle in time to revive Izayoi and name Inuyasha and give Izayoi the fire-rat cloak. And he was last seen battling Takemaru. This is all taken from the third film, which I've read about but haven't seen directly. So if anyone can clarify this for me one way or the other, or if the manga gives an alternate version of his death, please let me know.**

**Also, this chapter is slightly shorter than previous chapters, but I wanted it out before Christmas. And so, in the words of Krusty the Klown:**

**Have a merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, kwazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan. **

**Happy holidays everyone!**


	10. What Do You Fear?

Displacement

Chapter 10

"What Do You Fear?"

"Currently we grow large crops of millet and wheat in the outer regions, which are shipped here year-round. To the northern hills we mine for copper and iron to craft our war weapons and money, as well as hemp and silk for clothing. Stone, wood and clay are imported from the southern jungles for building materials. Because of so much trade taking place here, this city is more luxurious than you would find elsewhere. Lord Ying Zheng ensures his grand capitol houses the most well educated and mannered citizens in the empire."

_"Yeah, you don't wanna live among the people you've oppressed, live among the ones you suck up to with wealth and power," _Kagome thought wryly, listening to Ryuichi's words. The Japanese native was playing tour-guide leading her through the Qin capitol Xianyang with an escort of two armed soldiers behind them. Naturally, the small procession attracted a bit of attention. Kagome would wager that they weren't used to seeing someone guarded like this that wasn't their ruler, much less seeing the sailor fuku she was wearing after her symbolic refusal to wear the noble robes provided to her. She wouldn't have minded speaking to a few of the city inhabitants, but most of them just stared at her for a few moments then went on their way.

Otherwise, the scene was shockingly similar to something she could see at home. Children ran in the streets holding what looked like mini bow and arrow sets and blunted wooden swords and spears. Peddlers wheeled carts of countless wares down the street. Kagome turned as yet another one rounded the nearest corner, the driver shouting down the street about "fine spiced fish". Said fish hung dead from the awning of his cart alongside dead chickens and above various baked goods, packets of spices and bundles of colored hemp clothe. Adults followed their rampant children with small smiles, most of them wearing simple colored clothing and carrying baskets and sacks of whatever goods they had purchased.

The houses were small, two-story buildings built from wood, straw and stone and decorated with hung traps of colored hemp cloth and polished and tinted panes of thin rock. According to Ryuichi, families lived in groups of four or five in a single house, each family typically having their separate sleeping rooms and sharing the rest of the home for storage and eating. Now and then there was a larger, more luxurious home that Kagome presumed was for the wealthier class of the city. There were also various stalls and shrines selling tonics and offering prayer services and deity worship. Ryuichi had said that in addition to the street merchants and smaller shops, there was a large market square where the supplies were sold first-hand, but apparently this place would be out of the way for their journey.

"So where is this priestess anyway?" Kagome asked, following Ryuichi through the city. It was quite extravagant. Kagome knew for a fact her history teacher in the modern era would trade both his legs to be in her position, he was fascinated with the various Chinese dynasties. Still, she had seen the other half the empire, the laboring farmers working sweaty and dirty in the fields, on her trip to see hundreds of thousands of men working themselves dead to build the Qin Lord's tomb. These people in the city were living philanthropic lifestyles on the backs of the poor.

"We near her now," Ryuichi said, gesturing with his hand. Kagome followed his hand. Another shrine stood between too houses. It stood on a small stone platform with a pair of steps. The doors were smoothed and polished wood, and the walls covered in white ceramic tile. Ryuichi stepped onto the stairs, and Kagome noticed a small yin-yang in a mosaic on the stone. Two monks in blue robes stood on either side of the door to the shrine, and bowed.

"Greetings this day, Ryuichi," one of them said. "How might our humble temple be of service?"

"Greetings to you," Ryuichi replied, returning the bow. "This young maiden behind me is a guest in the palace of our most honorable Lord Ying Zheng, and we desire an audience with the priestess here." Kagome bit back a laugh. 'Honorable' lord indeed.

"But of course, Lady Zhu is always willing to see you," the second monk said. "Please, enter."

"Thank you," Ryuichi said, lifting the red curtain covering the entrance. Kagome followed a moment later. To her relief, the two guards Ying Zheng had assigned to protect her remained outside.

The inside of the shrine was dimly lit with two torches atop iron holders. Small bas of incense hung from above them, blanketing the air with a sweet-smelling aura. There was a large brass bowl of crystal water in the center of the room in a small indentation in the floor. The floor itself was simple woven bamboo and grass and very soft. A figure in a small white cloak with a hood sat cross-legged on the other side of the bowl, silently humming. A low table behind them held a variety of colored bottles and flasks.

"Lady Zhu," Ryuichi said, bowing. Kagome stood beside him and awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Greetings, Ryuichi. You have not visited me in some time," Lady Zhu said, lifting her head. Kagome gasped softly. Given the eerie nature of the shrine, Lady Zhu was not what she had expected. She actually looked rather young, only a few years older than herself, no older than twenty-five at the most, and was quite pretty. She had straight, shiny black hair that ran down her back and down inside the front of her robe, and bright green eyes. A small red headband circled her forehead with a white and black ying-yang painted in the center.

"Forgive me, as you know it is an honor to meet with you, but my duties have been quite pressing lately," Ryuichi replied.

"Ah yes, Ying Zheng has been tightening his security with rumors of spies flying like the crows over his head," Lady Zhu said with a wry smile. Ryuichi looked visibly uncomfortable with the pointed absence of the title to go with the man's name. Kagome decided right then she liked this woman.

"Yes, quite," Ryuichi said hastily. "Well, I am here not for myself or for a friendly visit, my lady, but for this young woman here," he stepped backward, and Lady Zhu turned her emerald gaze to Kagome.

"Ah, you are the young vixin who has been under Ying Zheng's care. I must say the rumors of your beauty were slightly exaggerated. Well founded, but still exaggerated. I can see why Ying Zheng took a fancy to you." Kagome shifted slightly. Well, she wasn't a model or anything, but she wasn't _that _bad looking…

"My young companion here came here hoping-"

"Ryuichi, be silent!" Lady Zhu interrupted, raising a hand. "If you please, wait outside." Ryuichi bowed and backed out of the shrine, the red curtain falling to cover his exit. "Now, Kagome, please sit," Lady Zhu continued, waving a hand over the small mat opposite her.

"How do you know my name?" Kagome asked suspiciously. Lady Zhu turned and took a small red flask from the table behind her, opening it and lifting a small, thin piece of wood, the end holding a few drops of an opaque white liquid. She held the wood over the bowl of water between them and let a single drop fall. The water instantly clouded in white smoke.

"The spirits of this realm tell many things to those who are patient and wise enough to listen," Lady Zhu explained, drawing in a deep breath. "I have known your name since you first entered our world."

"Your world?" Kagome whispered. "Then you know why I'm here."

"Sadly, yes and no," Lady Zhu replied. "I know how you came to be here, but why, I do not know. Although there are several clairvoyants in this world, I am not one of them."

"Then how do you know Ying Zheng's reign is a tenuous one?" Kagome asked. Lady Zhu chuckled slightly.

"One does not need mystic powers to see his inevitable defeat. Ying Zheng is a mighty ruler, but while he has strengthened his sword his spirit has grown feeble and weak. As the great king supporting his walls crumbles, his walls will fall with him and the rebels outside will lay siege to his palace. A man who thinks he can rule by might alone is a man who is destined to fail. Ying Zheng's rule will be shortlived, and the gods are merciful for this. He thinks himself better than the Five and the Three, and for this they will prove him wrong in time. There is only one Huangdi, and it is not him," Lady Zhu explained.

"Yeah. He works his people to death and lets the ones he likes live in luxury," Kagome said bitterly. "I've seen the site of his tomb. It's disgusting how he can be proud of forcing such hardships on others." Lady Zhu smiled.

"It is good to see such sense in a young woman in these times. Too many are blindly loyal to Ying Zheng out of fear. And that is why he will fall. Fear should be a tool with which to subdue unworthy enemies, not to leash unwilling subjects," she replied. Kagome nodded.

"So, if you know how I came here, do you know anything of how to send me back?" she asked. Lady Zhu closed her eyes and sat back.

"Tell me, Kagome, what do you fear?" she whispered.

"Huh?" Kagome replied, confused.

"In this world, what is your greatest fear? What, above all else, chills your heart to even think of it?" Lady Zhu repeated.

"I…don't really know. I've never thought about it much," Kagome said. "I guess Naraku acquiring all the jewel shards."

"You guess?" Lady Zhu guffawed, opening her eyes.

"Well what kind of question is that to spring on me anyway?" Kagome protested.

"A valid one," Lady Zhu explained, taking another flash from the table. This one was long, thin and dark blue. She removed the top and poured the light blue liquid inside the bowl of opaque white water. The water flashed, and Kagome watched as the blue liquid solidified and hardened on the surface. Kagome cautiously reached out. Her fingers broke the surface of the liquid and revealed normal water underneath, but the surface reformed after she withdrew her hand. Lady Zhu closed her eyes and reached out a slender finger, tapping the center of the bowl gently. Ripples shook over the liquid before it parted.

Kagome leapt back against the sound of a monstrous roar coming from the bowl. As she watched, crimson eyes with slim blue pupils glared up at her and lunged, golden claws flashing. Bloody gashes ripped across the water's surface, ripping the illusion into pieces. The image audibly cracked and rippled away into water again, the angry growls echoing away in the walls of the small shrine.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome whimpered, sliding back against the wall. She'd seen him like that more times than she would have liked. The Inuyasha she knew would never harm her, not if his life depended on it. But when the youkai took control and the Tetsusaiga's seal weakened, the Inuyasha she knew vanished like so much mysterious blue liquid.

"It is as I said, the spirits tell many things to those who listen," Lady Zhu whispered, remaining calm and in her cross-legged position behind the bowl of water. Kagome pressed a hand against her heart through the cotton of her blouse. "As I said, I am not a clairvoyant, but the spirits see the future and much more."

"Was that…was that the future then?" Kagome gasped, swallowing.

"It may be," Lady Zhu replied, closing her eyes. "Your path here and the path in your realm are both treacherous and full of danger and death. But whom that death shall afflict, I do not know. I do know the time will come when your greatest terrors become reality. In that moment, you may survive. You may not. You may not survive your journey in your world, you may not even survive your journey in this world."

"My journey in this world?" Kagome said, sliding forward as her heart calmed.

"You existed in this time long before you were born," Lady Zhu explained. "Your arrival was preordained at the dawn of history, as was your companion's. Inuyasha seeks his own journey now, as do you. Both of you will prove pivotal to the course of history. But history is but a river, its path bends and twists as its inhabitants will it. Destiny has coerced you both into playing a very dangerous game. You have within you the capacity to change time's course in ways no one could comprehend."

"But I already know how this era is supposed to play out," Kagome explained. "In my time, we have history books documenting the rise and fall of the Qin."

"That is fortunate then," Lady Zhu nodded. "You know how history is meant to play out. And thus you know your role in this game."

"My role?"

"It is not coincidence that only you and Inuyasha came here. It is by his hand that time could be undone. It is by yours that it could be repaired. You are two halves to this puzzle."

"Then if we were meant to come here, how and when do we return to our time?" Kagome asked. Lady Zhu turned and took another flask, a small green bottle. She withdrew the cap and inhaled the vapors from whatever was inside. Lady Zhu capped the bottle and let out a small groan, her head slumping forward. Kagome leaned forward before she spoke in a voice almost inaudible.

"When the sky glows green and the ground glows red, the path home shall open," Lady Zhu mumbled.

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Ryo snarled. "I can't smell a damn thing because of all the blood and that fucking midwife won't let me in the room! This is ridiculous, it's been ten fucking hours!"

"Ryo, be silent, it cannot be much longer," she replied, trying to calm her brother's anger. The youkai looked up, his face pale, and her ears twitched at the small cry. A moment later he pushed the shoji down. "Ryo!" she cried, following him. She followed him to find the midwife unharmed, but pushed aside. She gasped at the soft sobs coming from the sweaty, exhausted woman and the neko-youkai kneeling by her side.

"He's beautiful…" Ryo whispered, stroking the hair of the infant in his arms. She stared. She'd never seen her brother cry before. "He has your eyes," Ryo chuckled.

"But he has your hair," Sakura countered, lifting a hand to his cheek.

"Lord Ryo, I need to bathe and clean the infant properly," the midwife said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ryo kissed Sakura on the forehead and stood.

"I shall help," he said, staring down at the neko-kit in his arms. Ryo followed the midwife from the room as she sat down by Sakura. The woman was still gasping and sweaty, laying on her back staring at the ceiling.

"How do I look?" Sakura panted, looking up at her.

"Like you've gone ten rounds with my father," she laughed, patting Sakura's sweat matted-hair. "You're gonna need a bath very soon, you reek of blood. Ryo was complaining outside about it."

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed "I feel filthy too…"

"So what will you name him?" she asked. "Ryo was hoping to name him in memory of father. Hirokoumaru seemed to fit father, but on a baby, I don't see it."

"Actually," Sakura said. "I had picked out a name some time ago. When my family disowned me, you and your brother welcomed me. I'm human, but you've treated me like your own sister nonetheless. If you will allow it, I would name the child after you…Yukio." She gasped and felt her own tears well up.

"Yukio…" she breathed. "Sakura, it would be an honor."

"Thank you," Sakura replied, smiling. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her brother's mate. They were sisters as far as she was concerned. Blood didn't matter, they were pack and they were family. The two hugged for a moment before she sighed.

"Would you like to go see your son?" she asked. Sakura didn't respond. She frowned. "Sakura, wake up," she whispered, shaking her shoulder. Sakura didn't even whimper. She pulled back and lifted Sakura's head. A gleaming white skull grinned up at her, and she screamed and jumped back as it crumbled to dust. The dust lit up in fire, the flames spreading like water across the floor. Terrified sobs filled the room as she fled for the door, only to be met with a wall of flame. The wails grew louder, and a moment later, a howl of agony broke through the roar of the flames.

"Yuuukaaaaaaaaa!"

Yuka sat upright, her eyes wide. Sweat dripped down her face as she panted for breath.

"Oi, you okay?" Inuyasha asked from the other side of the fire. Yuka licked the inside of her suddenly dry mouth and forced herself to nod. She lifted her head to see the hanyou staring at her in confusion, along with a few other youkai and humans. From a tent entrance behind them, Toga's tall frame was illuminated by the firelight.

"Yeah, just….yeah. I'm fine," she replied. "Just…a bad dream," she explained, laying back. With a low murmur from the camp, Toga returned inside his tent while the other camp residents returned to their sleep. A hanyou stayed away for a moment, staring up at the aurora-lit night sky above.

_"What the hell kinda of dream was that?" _ Inuyasha thought. Yuka was calm, collected, and a little bitchy. She didn't seem the kind to have nightmares, and she reeked of fear when he woken up to the sounds of her cries. What was that dream about?

Yuka tried to force herself to go back to sleep, turning over and sighing heavily. She folded her hands under her cheek and clenched her eyes shut.

"Ryo…" she whispered, a tear sliding down onto her palms.

**I realized I've only been updating once a month, and with my intended length for this fic, that basically means I'll still be writing it next Christmas. So from now one I'll try and update twice a month, but if not, I guarantee you won't wait longer than previous updates. BTW, hope you guys enjoyed Lady Zhu's scene. I'm finally getting down to business with Kagome's side to this little adventure.**

**BTW, finally saw the third Inuyasha movie. I loved it, but I'll say it ahead of time, So'ounga will not appear in this fic, either in sword or youkai form. I considered it in an earlier draft, but as I hadn't seen the film at the time decided to go with something I was more knowledgeable of, and it's a little late to add it in now. But I will say this about the third film.**

**A – the way I've been characterizing Toga more or less matched up with the brief scenes of him in the film, so I'm happy.**

**B – the events of the film may impact the plot later, but not in a major way.**

**C – Sesshomaru is a bigger jerk than I thought. "I have no one to protect". Blow out your ass, Fluffy, you're more transparent than Casper.**

**Historical Notes**

**The "Five and the Three" Lady Zhu refers to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the mythological rulers of China before the start of their recorded history, sometime prior to 2800 BC. The Three Sovereigns, or "Huang", are the first gods, and the Five Emperors, or "Di" are the first five and perfect kings of China. The exact identity of these eight beings has varied throughout history. When Ying Zheng became First Emperor of China, he changed his name to "Shi Huangdi", uniting the titles Huang and Di to show he believed himself to have surpassed the accomplishments of all previous rulers before him, even the ones that had attained godhood.**

**Huangdi is also another name for the "Yellow Emperor", a Chinese god. Initially coming to the worshipping circles during the Zhou Dynasty circa 1100-250 BC, the Yellow Emperor would become the chief deity of Taoism during the Han Dynasty that directly followed the Qin Dynasty in 206 BC. The Yellow Emperor was worshipped as the ancestor of the Han people as well as a great inventor and warrior. Huangdi was also known as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors: at different points in history, he has been either at some times.  
**

**The descriptions of the city today were inspired by the PC game "Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom". Granted, a PC game isn't the best source, but its what I have and what I'm using.**


	11. That Is A Good Question

Displacement

Chapter 11

"That Is A Good Question"

"Good morning, Lady Kagome," Ryuichi said, entering the room. Kagome was already awake and finished slipping on her blouse as he entered.

"Hey Ryuichi," she replied. "So what's on the agenda today?"

"Unfortunately I will be needed to converse with the soldiers. Our military strategy against Chu is being reviewed, and Ying Zheng has become…distraught recently and will not meet with them himself," Ryuichi explained. Kagome nodded and remembered what she had read in her history textbook. All those mercury pills were starting to catch up with the Qin Lord.

"So what will I be doing then?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi had been looking out for her the last several days, giving her tours of the palace and the tour of the city yesterday. She'd like to trust Ying Zheng not to make a move with her around, but she knew better than that. Ying Zheng had done a lot of horrible things, rape probably wouldn't even faze him.

"I'm hoping you wouldn't mind just spending the day in the gardens or here. I'm sure I could persuade one of the guards to keep watch over you if you want some company," Ryuichi offered.

"Hm, no thanks, I guess," Kagome said. Ryuichi nodded and patted her on the shoulder.

"Do not worry, Lady Kagome, I am sure we shall find a way to return you to your world," he whispered.

"I know, it's just that in my world, there's something really bad happening lately, and I'm worried about it getting worse while I'm gone," Kagome said. It was true, if time in the feudal era and at home was flowing normally while she was here, there was no telling what Naraku was doing. Although she trusted Sesshomaru to ensure Kohaku's safety along with the shard of the jewel he had, there were still the shards from Kouga's legs she had from their last battle with Naraku. With only three shards of the jewel left, she was sure Naraku would come looking for hers eventually, and if Sango and Miroku were alone with Inuyasha or her should he seek them out, they would be gravely outmatched. She didn't want to return to the feudal era to find the houshi and the taijiya dead.

"You fight in a war in your world?" Ryuichi asked, frowning. A young woman, much less one like Kagome, shouldn't be in battle.

"Hey, it's not like that," Kagome defended. "I have a lot more power than you think. I'm kinda a priestess, or miko, or whatever you would call it here."

"A priestess? You possess holy powers?" Ryuichi asked, surprised. "You have not mentioned this before."

"Was I just supposed to mention it out of the blue?" Kagome pointed out. "It's not like you've asked or anything."

"True," Ryuichi admitted. "Please continue your story."

"Well, in my world there's a really powerful youkai, or yaoguai, called Naraku," Kagome explained. "I mean really powerful, he's probably killed hundreds of youkai and humans and he's still growing stronger from what we know. Inuyasha is strong, but we're not sure if he's strong enough."

"Surely if this 'Naraku' creature was so terrible, someone would have taken up an army against him by now," Ryuichi said. "However powerful he may be, he cannot be invincible."

"It's not that simple. Naraku has…" Kagome trailed off and thought for a moment before reaching inside her blouse. She pulled out a length of string strung through the capper on a small bottle. Inside lay two tiny pink slivers of a gemstone.

"What are those?" Ryuichi asked.

"It my world there's a really powerful jewel called the Shikon-no-Tama. The full jewel can grant its holder their deepest desire, or so the legends have said," Kagome continued. "I shattered the jewel a couple years ago, these are just two of the pieces. Even in their fragmented state the shards of the jewel are incredibly dangerous. They've been used to revive the dead and can empower even normal humans to near youkai-level strength, they make youkai get even stronger, and they've even been used to enchant weapons sometimes. Naraku has all but three shards of the complete jewel and has gained a lot of his power from them, and he knows where the third one is. These two are the other ones he doesn't have."

"So, you fear he will come to collect these two shards of this jewel from you in your absence, and that your family may be in danger from him while you are not there," Ryuichi said after a moment.

"Exactly," Kagome nodded. "Sango and Miroku are strong, but even all of us combined have a hard time surviving the battles with Naraku. I may get back to find that Naraku took Kohaku's shard of the jewel, and then…" Kagome sighed, and Ryuichi moved forward. Kagome gasped as the Japanese native pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I am sorry for you," he said, pulling back. "No one should have to bear such burdens. I wish you luck and victory in your battle when you eventually return. I do not know what type of creature this Naraku is, but I do believe you will find a way to defeat him in time."

"Thank you," Kagome replied, smiling. "I know we'll find a way, but it's not gonna be easy. Like I said, even a single shard of the jewel possesses great power, and Naraku has almost all of them. There's no telling how strong he'll become if he acquires all of them."

"Then you must make certain he does not," Ryuichi nodded. "If these shards are so dangerous then it is up to you to safeguard them and make sure they do not fall into the wrong hands."

"Right," Kagome agreed. There was a small sound, and the two turned their heads. The curtain to the room was moving slightly.

"Did you see anyone?" Kagome asked, tensing.

"I do not believe so, but I shall check," Ryuichi replied, moving to the curtain. The gold-tinted cloth was pulled back, and he quickly scanned the hallway outside the room.

"I do not see anyone," he said. "Well, if you'll excuse Kagome, I must go meet General Wang Jian. I shall return this evening."

"Bye," Kagome waved. Ryuichi nodded and left the room, the golden curtain swinging back into place behind him. Kagome looked down at the two jewel shards before dropping the bottle back inside the collar of her blouse. She stretched again and looked through her pack, pulling out a history book. Might as well continue the research on a way home…

* * *

"I will not make camp with you tonight," Toga announced suddenly, stopping his walk. One by one, the small army behind him followed suit.

"Why not my lord?" Yuka asked. Toga raised his hand and pointed a slender finger to the horizon. Inuyasha followed the gesture. A line of mountains and hills loomed in the distance.

"We near Song Shan," he replied. "The secret to harnessing the power of the Meidou awaits me. The rest of you shall make camp at nightfall and I shall continue on to the mountain. I can complete my travel there by morning and likely be back the same day."

"You can't go alone, what if you meet another army?" Inuyasha objected.

"I am quite capable of handling any human army that might attack me," Toga sniffed, casting the hanyou a slight glare.

"I must agree with Inuyasha, my lord," Yuka chimed in. "Please, allow some of us to accompany you for safety." Toga thought for a moment.

"Yuka, you and Inuyasha may follow if it will ease your minds, so long as you keep up with me," he said. "Any humans who wish to join us may come, but I will not order it." Inuyasha and Yuka both nodded. "Good. Then let us continue." Toga resumed his walk forward, and Inuyasha cast a glance at Yuka.

"Hey," he muttered. Yuka raised her head from examining her claws and looked over at him. "What happened last night?" Inuyasha asked.

"It is none of your concern," Yuka said harshly.

"I'm just trying to be nice, don't be so bitchy," Inuyasha protested.

"Do not begin this, either of you," Toga commanded from ahead of them. "We near the end of our journey and if you two cannot be civil to each other than I'd rather you not speak at all."

"Forgive me my lord," Yuka mumbled, bowing her head.

"Keh, whatever," Inuyasha snorted, folding his arms. Yuka glared at him, but was silent. The front of the procession was silent for a few minutes, save for the background noise of the humans talking behind them.

"Was it about your brother?" Inuyasha asked suddenly. Yuka's eyes went wide.

"What do you know of him?" she hissed.

"Oinari told me he was killed by humans," Inuyasha shrugged.

"I'm gonna kill that fox," Yuka growled, looking over her shoulder to glare at the youkai in question, who wasn't even paying attention to her. "Why do you care anyway?"

"You tell me, you're the one who started this whole thing, digging under my skin about humans," Inuyasha replied. Toga cast a glance back at the neko as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, yeah, he was killed by humans," she muttered. Inuyasha frowned.

"And?" he prompted.

"And what?" Yuka shot back. "He was killed by humans, end of story."

"I'm not stupid ya know, there's more, ain't there? If he was such a great and powerful youkai than how did he get killed by a bunch of wimpy humans?" Inuyasha asked. Yuka's lip curled up in a snarl as she turned her head.

"That's enough, Inuyasha," Toga cut off, turning around to face the hanyou. "I do believe I said for you two not to speak if you cannot be civil." The two fell back into silence, and Inuyasha let it drop. He could relate to Yuka not wanting to discuss her past to an extent, but something didn't add up. How did a single dead relative lead to such fierce hatred of humans?

"So, how do you think the Meidou will be tempered?" he asked, walking a little faster to walk alongside Toga. The taiyoukai shook his head.

"I do not know. If there is such a way I am certain I can find a clue to the means at Song Shan, and if I cannot find what I need there then I shall find and pursue a new course of action," he explained.

"What if there isn't a way to harness the Meidou?" Inuyasha asked. That was something else that didn't make sense to him. He knew full well that the Tenseiga couldn't form a perfect circle when Totosai reforged it for Sesshomaru, and although he wasn't quite sure how he did it he had strengthened the technique from a mere crescent to an oval. But if Sesshomaru's Meidou wasn't perfect, then somehow, assuming his father found a way to perfect it himself, it must have been weakened somehow. Either that, or he wouldn't find a way to temper it at all. Sesshomaru's Meidou had finally completed itself when the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga harmonized with each other. Did Toga know this was possible, or was there something more to it all? Inuyasha frowned. Something wasn't right about this whole quest, something didn't add up. What was he missing?

"That is a good question I do not have an answer to," Toga replied. "The Meidou is far too strong to be left unchecked, if I cannot find a way to harness its energies safely then it shall consume the Tenseiga and myself eventually. If these energies cannot be contained then I shall have to discard the sword and hope its power does not fall into the wrong hands."

Inuyasha nodded and fell silent for a moment. He cast an aside glance at the taiyoukai and thought for a moment. One way or the other the Tenseiga, complete with incomplete Meidou, would find its way to Sesshomaru after his father's death, and the Tetsusaiga would end up in his father's tomb inside his eye.

"Do you have a son?" he blurted out. Toga raised an eyebrow and turned his head.

"No," he said briskly. "I have my intended awaiting me once I return to Japan. But I do not yet have a mate nor a child."

"You have an intended, but you haven't mated her?" Inuyasha asked.

"No. Hatsutenka is a lovely youkai, but I have not claimed her," Toga explained. "I'm a taiyoukai, it is vital I choose a mate worthy of my standing.

"So you're holding out in case someone better comes along," Inuyasha said dryly.

"Do not presume to judge me, Inuyasha, you are not a taiyoukai," Toga glared. "I've quite literally had inu-youkai bitches throw themselves at my feet begging to bear the Lord of the West his first son. If I wish to claim Hatsutenka then I shall, if I find another youkai to my liking then I shall claim her. But tell me, what business is it of yours which youkai I mate?"

"I'm just asking," Inuyasha muttered. Toga snorted and looked ahead.

"You are a great warrior, Inuyasha, and your youth is expected to give rise to questions. But I am more than twice your age and strength and a great deal wiser as well. Believe me when I say that any decision I make is made with the utmost consideration and forethought."

"I'll try," Inuyasha replied dryly. His father's plans were well laid out, but they weren't without their shortcomings. His father may have eventually intended for Sesshomaru to return the Meidou to Tetsusaiga, but he doubted Kanna and her influence on the battle had been included in such a plan. His father was intelligent, but not infallible.

* * *

"You are certain of this?" Ying Zheng said, staring out his window.

"Yes my lord," Li Si replied, holding his head down. Ying Zheng turned and drew his sword, holding it against Li Si's neck. Li Si's eyes stared down at the blade as its edge rested against his flesh.

"You are aware of what this could mean if you are incorrect?" Ying Zheng asked.

"Yes my lord," Li Si whispered. Ying Zheng smiled and withdrew the sword and sheathed it.

"But by the sovereigns, are you aware of what this could mean if you are correct?" he said, chuckling. Li Si nodded.

"I am, my lord," Li Si replied. Ying Zheng turned back to the window and sighed.

"I have been a fool, Li Si," he muttered. Li Si stood and didn't respond. "Do you know why?" Ying Zheng asked, looking over his shoulder.

"No, my lord," Li Si shook his head, standing.

"I have waited. I wait for that pathetic yaoguai to kill my enemy, I wait for Chu to falter, I wait for my envoys to find my elixir of life, I wait for the maiden Kagome to favor me. I wait, I wait, I wait wait and _wait_!" Ying Zheng roared the final word, causing a few of the guards in the garden below his window to look up at their ruler. Ying Zheng inhaled deeply and smiled.

"I am Lord of Qin, Li Si, ruler of the civilized realm, heaven's chosen son to unify this land under the Qin banner. Why, Li Si, should I wait for the gods to give me the victory, the woman, the immortality I seek, when I could easily take them on my own?" Li Si did not reply. "Now," Ying Zheng continued, "tell me again."

Li Si repeated his earlier message, and Ying Zheng's lips curled into a large grin, until the Qin Lord was partially laughing aloud like a madman.

"Li Si, when I conquer Chu and claim all I deserve, you shall take your place in history as the architect of my reign," he said, turning.

"Thank you, my lord," Li Si said, bowing again.

"No, thank _you_, Li Si. Come," Ying Zheng walked past his advisor and began to walk down the steps from his room. "There is much work to be done. This Lord of Qin shall wait no longer."

**Hatsutenka – I needed a name to slap on Sess's mom somewhere. I pretty much just ran some words through a search engine and joined them together. Hatsu can mean "new, eight, or hearts", and Tenka means a whole bunch of things, and can be broken down into Ten and Ka, which each have their own meanings. I meant for the name to mean "new snow", but given that each of the name's components has more than one translation, you can translate it as you like.**

**Be forewarned, baaaaaad things are gonna happen next chapter.**


	12. You Shall Succeed, Or You shall Die

Displacement

Chapter 12

"You Shall Succeed, Or You Shall Die"

Inuyasha was almost panting as he dashed to keep up with Toga. The taiyoukai was far ahead of him, and Yuka not quite as ahead but still in front of him. Even with his full speed, his father and his lieutenant were outpacing him. The sun had begun to set on the horizon and night was likely just an hour or two away. Song Shan's silhouette grew larger by the minute as his hanyou speed carried him there faster than a horse. Suddenly, he noticed something and leapt up to cancel his speed, landing a few feet behind Toga and Yuka.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, looking up. The mountain of Song Shan loomed overhead. A small staircase of smooth stone led up its treacherous slopes. Toga held out a hand and frowned.

"A barrier," he whispered, running a hand over the invisible aura of power. Inuyasha watched as the air rippled and sparked slightly at his father's touch.

"Can we enter it?" Yuka asked. Toga shook his head.

"No. The purity of Song Shan is much too powerful. It would purify even me in an instant," he replied.

"Great, all the way here for nothing," Inuyasha muttered. Yuka shot him a glare as Toga continued to study the barrier.

"We shall find a way inside," Yuka said harshly, turning away from the hanyou. Suddenly, Toga snorted and stepped forward. "My lord!" Yuka gasped, reaching out a hand. Toga raised his head and looked around the mountain with disinterest as he entered the barrier.

"The barrier has parted," he announced, beginning to climb the stone stairs up the mountain. "Its caster knows we are here and has accepted us inside." Yuka looked around for some sort of clue to what had happened, her face set in a frown.

"Don't be a wimp," Inuyasha said, walking past her to follow Toga. Yuka scowled and stepped up the stairs after him. Inuyasha looked up the stairs. He could see the end, but it was a long way up the cliffs. The stairs themselves had been carved into the mountain's face and went up at a clearly manmade angle, small inscriptions and carvings etched into the rock lining the sides of the path. It would have taken a lot of work even by the standards of the feudal era. Whoever had made their home here obviously had some sort of otherworldly powers to create such a path. After several minutes of walking, the stairs ended, and Inuyasha stepped up beside his father, Yuka on his heels. The three of them stood silently, observing the scene before them.

The mountain had been sheered away, leaving an area large enough for…well, appropriately, large enough for a shrine. Gardens of flowers lined a large, circular pool in the middle of the area, which was covered with an elevated wooden platform covering the rock and stone underneath. A small shrine house lay against the back end of the area, the mountain rising up suddenly behind it and dwarfing it with its shadow in the evening sun. Trees and bushes lay in small openings in the platform, growing up from soil in square gardens cut into the rock.

"It's beautiful…" Yuka whispered, looking around the shrine. Inuyasha silently nodded, agreeing with the neko for once. The shrine sat halfway up a mountain and was carved into its face with plants and architecture that couldn't have existed naturally. Yet, the shrine and the mountain still seemed to fit together perfectly in the scene before them. For all the contrast between the two, Inuyasha couldn't picture the mountain without the shrine on it. The imagery just seemed to work.

"Yes it is. But we did not come here to admire such beauty," Toga reminded, stepping up a small wooden staircase to the platform. Yuka and Inuyasha stepped up after him, and Toga walked down the platform to stand at the railing lining the edge of the platform where it circled the pool of water. "We were allowed inside the mountain's barrier, someone must have sensed us," Toga said.

"Well I don't see anyone, so what's the plan?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow and looking up at him.

"I call on the caretaker of this shrine!" Toga yelled, staring at the shrine house across the pool. "I request you show yourself to me. I am Lord Toga, taiyoukai of Japan, and I have come for the priestess of Song Shan. I am here not to cause violence but to seek council."

"That works, real subtle," Inuyasha muttered, rolling his eyes. Yuka shot him another dirty look. Toga waited for a moment before the shoji of the shrine house parted.

A woman stepped down the wooden steps, carrying a small, crooked staff of wood with a round head of green jade. She wore a simple white robe that hung down to her knees, and a necklace of red and green jade beads with an unseen pendant dipped underneath the neckline. Her hair was gray and tied into a tight bun held in place by a single pin, and her face was heavily wrinkled. Inuyasha's face twisted. For all the appearances of a woman well into old age, the priestess of Song Shan moved with the energy of a young woman, and an undeniable aura of spiritual power radiated from her.

"Greetings, lord dog," the priestess whispered, bowing her head.

"Greetings, lady priestess," Toga replied, kneeling. Yuka quickly followed suit, and Inuyasha got down on his knee shortly after.

"Please, rise. This old woman has no need for such formalities," the priestess scoffed. The three stood up, and Toga walked around the pool of water to stand before the priestess.

"You allowed me inside the mountain. You knew who I was," he accused quietly.

"Yes. I have been expecting you, lord dog," the priestess nodded. "I foresaw your arrival many moons ago."

"If you are gifted with such foresight, then you must also know why I am here," Toga said. The priestess looked up at him blankly, and Toga's eyes narrowed slightly. Either this woman didn't know, or she was toying with him. Perhaps a little of both, given the small twinkle in her eye. "Does my plight amuse you?" he growled.

"Your tale would amuse you as well, if you knew its end," the priestess replied with a chuckle. "When I was told of your coming, I gazed into the time river and learned much about you, lord dog."

"I lack such an ability, so you will understand if I fail to find any such humor," Togs said sharply.

"Of course," the priestess nodded. Toga was slightly taken back at her submission, but refused to let it show.

"Who are you?" Toga asked.

"I am Lady Song. But you may refer to me by any title you deem fitting. As I said, I have no need for formalities. My time in this realm, even your time, is too short to waste on such things," the priestess said.

"And you know I am Lord Toga, and thus our introductions are aside," Toga muttered, unclipping the Tenseiga's sheath from his waist. "You know of the power this Tenseiga holds?"

"Yes," Lady Song nodded. "The Meidou Zangetsuha. I have heard of this technique. You are not the first to seek a way to contain the meidou's energy, nor the first to fail. However, you are the first to seek me for such a matter."

"The fates of others who harnessed this technique are of no concern to me. My concern is for my sword and my life," Toga said. "Tell me, is there a way to properly temper the meidou's energy?"

"There are several," Lady Song smiled. "But the power you need does indeed lie within your grasp here this evening."

"You have the enchantments I seek?" Toga asked.

"You did not hear me properly," Lady Song chided. "Now, as so often occurs in this world, what you need is not the same as what you seek, though I suppose it will serve your purposes just as well even so."

"This Toga's patience for riddles is growing thin," Toga growled, narrowing his eyes. "Either speak to me properly or I shall leave and seek assistance elsewhere."

"We both know that's not true," Land Song sighed, shaking her head in amusement. "But if you wish it, then I shall answer you more simply. Yes, the power to contain the energy of the meidou lies here."

"Then tell me how to acquire this power," Toga demanded.

"I cannot," Lady Song shook her head again. "The power cannot be taught. It can only be learned." She reached up a hand and ran a finger along the necklace of jade beads around her neck running under her robe. "There is a trial. I can show you the way, but I cannot come with you, nor can your companions. It is for you and you alone to attempt. If you succeed in overcoming this trial you shall obtain the power you seek."

"And if I fail this trial?" Toga asked coolly.

"You shall succeed, or you shall die," Lady Song said in the same tone, closing her eyes.

"No!" Yuka protested, taking a few steps forward. "My lord, let me take this trial, I shall lay down my life for you." Inuyasha thought for a moment. Was this why he had been sent back here?

"No, I'll go," he interrupted. "I agreed to come here and help, so that's what I'll do. Give me the Tenseiga and I'll take on her trial."

"It is not your place, I am Lord Toga's lieutenant here, it shall be me!" Yuka countered.

"It is not your place either," Toga said, turning around to face the two. "I appreciate your concern. But this is my task. I came here seeking the power to temper the meidou, and _I_ shall be the one to acquire that power. If I fail, then I trust you both to return to Japan and tell my people what happened."

"But my lord…" Yuka whispered. Toga shook his head.

"No. This is my duty as taiyoukai and the holder of the Tenseiga."

"Lord dog speaks the truth," Lady Song interjected. "Only he can accomplish this trial, if either of you attempted it you would die without a fight." Yuka stepped back, put out but bowing to the two. Toga turned forward again. "Then you are sure you shall try this? If the trial begins there is no way for me to stop it, your life will be forfeit if you cannot overcome it," Lady Song repeated.

"I am sure. Begin the trial," Toga said, pulling the Tenseiga from its sheath. The blade turned black as the meidou's energy awoke and began to circle the fang. Yuka and Inuyasha both stepped back as a pink barrier rose into place over Toga and Lady Song. Lady Song reached underneath the neckline of her robe and withdrew the end of the jade necklace. A large gold talisman in the shape of a half-sphere hung at the end of the necklace. In the center of the talisman lay an opaque black orb. Lady Song slipped the talisman over her head and placed it on the ground between her and Toga.

"Strike the meidou-seki with the Tenseiga, and your trial shall begin," Lady Song instructed. Toga lifted the Tenseiga into the air and looked down at the meidou-seki, then drove the point of the fang into the black orb in its center. The orb cracked, and tendrils of dark energy leaked out, reaching the edge of the small domed barrier around them and curling up its sides. Toga allowed his unease to show as the black tendrils snaked overhead and met at the top of the dome, sparking.

Behind them, Inuyasha and Yuka watched as the dome shimmered, then turned opaque black.

* * *

Kagome looked up at the darkening sky and stood, moving towards the doors back to her room. She approached the doors, when suddenly the two guards there moved to block her path.

"Good evening, Lady Kagome," the left guard said, nodding. Kagome nodded.

"Good evening. Can I pass?" she asked. The guards stared at her blankly. There was a clank of metal, and Kagome turned. Two other guards had materialized behind her. And behind them…

"Good evening, Kagome," Ying Zheng smiled, walking up behind the guards. "I trust your day in the gardens has been enjoyable?" Kagome took a step back, and Ying Zheng's smile grew. "Take her," he commanded. The two guards moved forward, and Kagome bolted to the left. An arm wrapped around her forearm and pulled her back, holding her against the doorway. The other guard held out her other arm. Kagome pulled and struggled against the two as Ying Zheng approached her.

"What are you doing?" Kagome demanded.

"I fear the time for formalities and hospitality has come to an end, Kagome," Ying Zheng explained. "I find no further need to be so generous to you. As of this moment you belong to me, any attempt to leave the palace will result in your execution. I'm afraid you're simply too lovely and too important to me to be allowed to leave. Now, please come here, or I shall be forced to make you come here."

"You want to act like that?" Kagome snapped. "Take a hint, your empire _dies_ in less than twenty years from now, about ten years after your death, and history will come to know you as the cruel, elitist, violent tyrant you really are!" Ying Zheng's hand shot out and clamped down on her chin, and Kagome gasped.

"You have a wicked tongue, my dear," he chuckled. "The first thing I shall do with you is teach you some better uses for it." Kagome narrowed her eyes and kicked, bringing her knee up squarely into the junction of the Qin Lord's legs. Ying Zheng shrieked and fell back to the stone walkway, clutching the wounded area. The guards looked stunned as Kagome smirked.

"You have no idea how long you've had that coming," she hissed. Ying Zheng slowly climbed to his feet and glared at the miko before bringing his hand back and backhanding her across the cheek. Kagome's face shot to the side with a loud smack.

"And I suspect you have had that 'coming' for some time yourself," he growled. "You are unbelievable. A woman of such beauty and intelligence as you speaking to her superiors that way and traveling with yaoguai filth! Any decent woman would have fled that beast upon first meeting it, yet you consider it a friend."

"Shut up! Inuyasha's earned more respect from me in a single day than you've earned in my entire stay here!" Kagome cried. "You don't know a thing about him, or anyone! You think you're a ruler, you're just a bully who happened to rope idiots into following him. Like I said, you _die_ in less than ten years, and your empire as you know it will die with you."

"Your pathetic accusations mean nothing to me. Where did you hear such things, your Japanese writings? The ignorant drabbles of barbarians?" Ying Zheng sneered. "Listen to the words of the First Emperor. I shall reign over this land for a thousand years, the Qin shall flourish and all the land will bow before us."

"You couldn't find the elixir of life in ten centuries, much less ten more years," Kagome laughed.

"Perhaps not, my searches thus far have failed, it is true," Ying Zheng admitted. "But I do believe I have found something just as well. Hold her feet." The guards moved their spears to pin Kagome's feet under their handles. Ying Zheng stepped forward and ran a finger along her neck. Kagome pulled away from his touch as much as she could.

"You shall not die. You shall merely be imprisoned until you learn to act like a proper woman, a proper _wife_," Ying Zheng whispered. "When Chu falls and I am crowned Emperor at last, I shall greatly enjoy claiming you as my queen." Kagome shivered at his words. "But, first, you have something else I desire," Ying Zheng continued. Kagome frowned, trying to figure out what he meant. Then her mouth opened in a small gasp as Ying Zheng's finger slipped under the string around her neck.

"Or, to phrase it properly," he corrected, drawing the bottle out of Kagome's blouse and staring at the tiny pink jewel shards inside with a small smile. "You have _two_ things I desire."

**I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess a lot of little pieces just clicked into place, ne? I'll say it now, I've been looking forward to the next chapter for a long, long time, and I promise you all, you'll enjoy it very much.**


	13. I Believe I Understand Now

Displacement

**Anyone who knows me knows I don't toot my own horn that much. In fact, I've actually got self-esteem issues. But to be blunt, I consider what I cooked up in this chapter genius considering what we know about the Tenseiga, and I did very much enjoy writing this. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much.**

Chapter 13

"I Believe I Understand Now"

Dark.

Toga looked around the place the meidou-seki had sent him. Everywhere was inky blackness, and a strange sense of displacement. An invisible path under his feet cushioned him from falling into the abyss below.

"Where am I?" he whispered to himself, tightening his grip on the Tenseiga.

"Figuring that out is part of your trial," Lady Song replied. Toga looked over his shoulder, not expecting the priestess to have followed him. "Down this path lies the trial. I cannot follow, but I can help you."

"Help me how?" Toga asked. Lady Song bowed her head.

"Remember not my words, lord dog, but your own. What is it you came here to find, and more importantly, how did you expect to obtain it?" Toga looked down at the Tenseiga with a frown.

"What manner of assistance is that?" he muttered, turning. This time, he was not entirely surprised to find the path behind him empty. Toga made a small sound and turned forward, sheathing the Tenseiga and walking down the path he couldn't see stretching before him. The dark place was eerily silent, even his own feet made the smallest of sounds as they touched on the path underneath them. The loudest sound he could hear was his own breathing.

"What am I expected to do here?" Toga asked the blackness, not expecting a response but unsure if it wouldn't give one – there was no telling where Lady Song and the meidou-seki had taken him. There was a rumbling, and the blackness before him began to shift. Toga stepped back slightly and assumed a fighting stance as the shadows formed into a form. A large, horned monster loomed over him, flexing large black claws and glaring at him with luminous gray eyes.

"So, you are my trial," he stated, looking up at the monster.

_**I shall be your destroyer," **_the monster hissed, eyes flashing. Its mouth did not move with the words, but they boomed just the same.

"This I doubt," Toga replied. The monster roared and lunged forward, and Toga leapt up to avoid its claws, slashing his own talons into the monster's head. Toga's claws met the creature's eyes, and he gasped as he dove right through the eyes and tumbled back to the invisible floor below. The monster swiped at him, and Toga jumped and slashed at its elbow. His claws passed through the beast as if it weren't there.

"You aren't real," he whispered, landing.

_**"Wrong!"**_the monster cried, swinging out a hand. Toga was caught offguard and went flying backwards, landing heavily.

"What manner of trickery is this?" he demanded, rolling to avoid the creature's fist. The other claw came towards him, and Toga jumped and put a hand to his hip.

"Tetsusaiga!" he roared, flinging the sword from its sheath. The ordinary katana in his hand gave off the barest wisp of youki, and Toga growled. _"The Tetsusaiga cannot transform?" _he thought, staring at the sword. He landed and sheathed the sword.

"Fine, to hell with you!" Toga moved his hand to the other sword handle at his hip. The Tenseiga emerged into the abyss, and turned black in his hand. "Meidou Zangetsuha!" Toga roared into the darkness. He swung the blade into the unseen ground and sent a massive oval of dark energy toward the monster. The meidou hit the creature in the head, and fell to its knees as its head, right shoulder and upper torso vanished from the hell attack.

"You made me use my Tenseiga," Toga muttered, insulted. He looked around for any sign of Lady Song, when a hissing filled the void of silence. Toga turned to watch as tendrils of black energy emerged from the space where the creature's missing skin should be. The tendrils grew larger and more numerous, merging, turning, curving, and formed a new shoulder…then a torso…then a head. Toga watched in horror as the beast roared and climbed back to its feet.

"Impossible…" he whispered. The beast lunged, and Toga leapt.

_"Having trouble, lord dog?" _Toga growled as Lady Song's voice filled his ears.

"Wretched priestess, you expect me to defeat this beast?" he demanded, continuing to dodge the monster's attacks.

_"You can, the hell beast is strong but not as strong as you," _Lady Song replied.

"I cannot, the Tetsusaiga will not transform, and neither my meidou nor my claws affect it," Toga protested.

_"That is quite unfortunate," _Lady Song stated simply.

"Enough riddles!" Toga cried, diving to avoid a foot slamming where he had been. Lady Song did not reply.

_**"You shall die. Your soul will grow stagnant in hell," **_the monster taunted, turning around.

_"Remember my words, lord dog, and think why the Tenseiga did not work. The power to prevail lies within you," _Lady Song whispered. Toga jumped to avoid a punch and was hit backwards by the other hand. He landed and rolled, shaking himself off and looking up at the monster.

"Remember your advice that offered no clue?" he growled, leaping back. This time Lady Song did not answer. Toga narrowed his eyes. _"There must be a way, think. Her words…" _Toga continued thinking, and gasped.

"Of course," he whispered. His distraction did not go unnoticed, and he was punched back, groaning from the impact. He climbed slower to his feet than he would have liked, glaring at the monster. "It is no wonder the meidou does not affect you," he accused. "The priestess said you were a beast of hell. So the technique which dispatches its victim to hell does nothing to you."

_**"This revelation will be of no help," **_the hell beast hissed.

"I think it shall," Toga whispered. "The priestess claimed the ability to see through time and found the end of tail amusing. She would not lead me to you if she thought I would die."

_**"Think what you must, you shall die all the same," **_the hell beast laughed, slashing. Toga jumped back, his mind racing.

"She told me to think of what I came here seeking, and how I wanted to obtain it," he explained. "I came here seeking a way to harness the power of the meidou, and…" Toga thought intently, and frowned as his words to Inuyasha came back to him.

_One of the Taoists' common beliefs is balance, tempering a force with an equal but opposite force. If my Meidou is to be harnessed properly, I am sure that one of the priests there will have a way."_

"Temper a force with an equal but opposite force," he said, drawing the Tenseiga. The waves of dark energy surrounding the blade quickly began to swirl and form a vortex as the Meidou Zangetsuha formed.

"She gave three pieces of information," Toga remembered, staring at the sword even as his feet moved to evade the hell beast. "The first was to remember what I came here to do. The second was that you were a hell beast. The third was that the power lay within me."

_**"What are you rambling?" **_the hell beast roared.

"My power…my own demonic energy is potent enough without any outside sources fueling it further." Toga whispered, looking at his arm and the aura of youki energy coursing around it. The energy randomly snapped out a whip of power, crackling in the air. A tendril snapped towards the Tenseiga, and curved into the vortex at the center of the meidou around the blade as it snapped back from the black energy. Toga stared at the sword in his hand, and his mouth slowly opened.

"Of course…" he gasped. He jumped to avoid another attack, and landed. He held the Tenseiga out to his side.

"You shall die now," he glared.

_**"What can you do to me?" **_the hell beast laughed. Toga concentrated. His aura shifted, pulsed, and began to flow down his arm. Toga concentrated, and let out a gasp of pain as his youki was drawn into the vortex of the meidou surround the Tenseiga. _**"You fool, you shall kill yourself!" **_the hell beast said. Toga clenched his eyes shut and grunted as more of his aura flowed into the vortex, the yellow tendrils of his power flowing amidst the black tendrils of the meidou's energy. Beads of sweat began to roll down Toga's face.

"No…" he panted, struggling to breathe. "I believe I understand now." Toga felt his strength waver, and let out a scream of anguish. He pulled, and the flow of energy from his youki slowed. The hell beast stepped back and growled.

_**"What is this?" **_it demanded. Toga groaned and continued to pull back his youki. The energy, flowed up his arm, down from the hilt of Tenseiga, back out of the vortex. The yellow and black strands, wrapped around each other, slowed to a stop. Toga gasped as his strength flowed back, and opened his eyes to slit as he continued pulling. The vortex of meidou and youki auras began to flow again, in the opposite direction as the two flowed out of the vortex.

_**"Enough of your games!" **_the hell beast roared, raising a claw.

_"There!" _Toga thought, snapping his head up, eyes wide. The claw came down towards him, and Toga swung the Tenseiga out.

The hell beast let out a cry of pain as a glowing white slash appeared on its palm. It stumbled back in pain, and Toga watched, before lowing his gaze to the Tenseiga. The vortex of energy had begun to flow on his own, the whirlpool of the meidou's energy flowed in the opposite direction without his own youki to control its path. The black vortex lit up blue, and as Toga stared, the meidou circling the blade lightened from black, to blue, then blue-white.

"Incredible," Toga whispered, holding the sword out into the abyss. The Tenseiga pulsed, sending a wave of glowing blue energy through the abyss, lighting up the horizon.

_**"NO!" **_the hell beast slashed again, and Toga brought up the glowing blue Tenseiga, slicing off the beast's hand. It threw its head back and screamed as the wound lit up in white light.

"This is your end," Toga growled, turning his gaze to the hell beast. It let out a scream of frustration as Toga charged towards it, leaping up and bringing the Tenseiga over his head.

"Gyaku-Meidou Zangetsuha!" he shouted, slashing. The glowing fang cut a blazing white wound down the center of the hell beast's face, and continued down with the flow of the blade. Toga landed with a cry, the Tenseiga cleaving the beast in two. The two halves of the hell beast glowed white and collapsed around him.

* * *

"We should have helped him!" Yuka protested, slamming a fist into the wooden platform surrounding the shrine, cracking the wood.

"Look," Inuyasha whispered. Yuka stood up and gasped as the black barrier turned pink again.

"What happened?" she asked, staring inside it. Toga and Lady Song stood there. Lady Song's mouth moved, and Yuka frowned. She couldn't hear.

"I understand what you meant now," Toga whispered, bowing his head. "Forgive me earlier impertinence. I was…frustrated."

"Frustration over calmness is good," Lady Song replied. "The frustrated man cannot understand what he hears. The calm man does not care."

"The meidou's energy…" Toga said, drawing the Tenseiga. "The vortex of the meidou was reversed by my own youki." He looked down at the sword, glowing bright blue instead of pitch black. Where before the vortex of energy had flowed right, now it flowed left. The energy was still black, but it turned blue the farther away from the vortex it went.

"The technique known as the Meidou Zangetsuha dispatches the soul of its victim to hell," Lady Song recited. "However, should an outside force reverse the flow of the meidou's energy…"

"Then the technique that once dispatched its victims to hell shall return them to earth," Toga finished. "You told me my own power was the key. I was able to channel my youki to reverse the flow of the meidou, but it drew my energy into itself. It nearly killed me."

"Had a less powerful creature attempted it, it would have," Lady Song warned. "But it is done now. The blade that once was a weapon of destruction has become a weapon of life."

"I thank you for this," Toga said, sheathing the Tenseiga. "But all the same, I am still confused. You told me you would tell me how to harness the meidou, but its power has been reversed into this…blade of healing. How am I to perfect the technique if I cannot use it?"

"You cannot," Lady Song explained. "There exists no way in this world for you to perfect the meidou to a complete circle. That honor will fall to a youkai named Sesshomaru, many centuries from now."

"Sesshomaru?" Toga frowned. "Who is this youkai and how does he acquire my Tenseiga?" Lady Song closed her eyes.

"Several centuries from now, he shall become your first son," she whispered. Toga's eyes went wide for a moment. "Do not ask. I see through time, I do not interfere with it," Lady Song said. "In time, you will come to understand yourself."

"I…see…" Toga's eyes narrowed. "Wait. If I am to give the Tenseiga to my son, then…" Lady Song slowly nodded.

"I am sorry," she sighed. Toga took in a breath and thought for a moment. Several seconds later, he closed his eyes and bowed.

"I thank you for your assistance once again. Be sure I will not forget such kindness," he said.

"You have one final task ahead of you, but I cannot even tell you what it is. When your task presents itself, you will do the right thing."

"And has your soothsaying told you this?" Toga asked, lips curling up in a small smile.

"No. You have," Lady Song replied. Toga snorted.

"I am many things to many people, lady priestess. I rule my subjects fairly and protect them when they cannot protect themselves. I do the duties any honorable ruler would in my place. I assist those I see fit to assist and destroy those I deem necessary for destruction. I am a taiyoukai and a lord, but I am not and do not desire to be a hero," he said.

"Well, not yet anyway," Lady Song laughed. Toga grunted in response and looked down at the Tenseiga. He thought for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Wait a moment…" he whispered. Lady Song looked up as Toga looked down at the ground. He narrowed his eyes again as something in his head clicked into place. "On the way here, I was asked a question," he continued. He thought for another moment. "Before I go, I would have one more question to ask you, lady priestess."

"Ask," Lady Song replied with a wave of her hand.

"This is annoying, she should lower the barrier so we can hear them," Yuka grumbled.

"You ever consider maybe they're speaking privately?" Inuyasha said with a roll of his eyes, looking over his shoulder at her. Yuka crossed her arms and turned her head away. Inuyasha turned back to the barrier. Lady Song's mouth moved to unheard speech, and Toga stood silent for a moment.

Then, without warning, the taiyoukai slowly turned fully to lock eyes with him.

Inuyasha stood up straight as Toga stared at him, his face blank. Inuyasha's face was more giving, and let his confusion show as the youkai continued to stare. The barrier around Toga and Lady Song lowered, and Toga walked towards them. Yuka stood up from the tree she was leaning against. Toga walked past him to stand before Yuka.

"My lord. Did you acquire what you came for?" she asked, bowing.

"Yes. I believe I got what I desired. Several things I desired, in fact," Toga replied. Inuyasha looked back at Lady Song as she approached Toga.

"Lord dog," she said. Toga turned, and Lady Song held up her hands. "Take this." Toga looked down and reached out a claw to pluck the meidou-seki from her hands, the black pearl in its center whole once again. "The time will come when its powers shall be needed again."

"And I shall assume that while you could tell me the circumstances for that, it will instead be up to me to figure it out on my own," Toga said dryly. Lady Song smiled. "Very well," Toga nodded, tucking the meidou-seki into his robes. "If you would allow it, the trial you gave me was quite tiring. Seeing as how the sun has set, I request you let us rest the night here."

"Of course, come into the shrine and you may sleep there," Lady Song replied. Yuka and Toga moved to follow her, the taiyoukai stopping slightly after passing Inuyasha.

"Whatever the outcome of our time together, know that I have enjoyed your company, Inuyasha," Toga whispered neutrally. Inuyasha frowned as he walked after his father, the two youkai and one hanyou entering the Song Shan shrine.

**Alrighty, if anyone got lost, basically when the meidou dispatches the opponent to hell – when the vortex of the meidou flows the right way. But Toga found a way to make it flow the opposite way, and presto, the Tenseiga now returns the dead to earth. Get it now? One of the things that always ticked me off is that they've yet to explain how Tenseiga became a healing sword. Well, in my world at least, now you know.**

**Translation**

**Gyaku – reverse**


	14. What Else Can I Do?

Displacement

**You'll notice that all the time differences in the story are now noted with page breaks as per FF's new Document Manager.**

**Also, forgive the late update. My computer went kaput. Dead, broken, crashed and burned up in its own ashes. So I'm working off my parent's PC– thankfully once my PC started freezing prior to the big kabunka, I backed all my files upon a USB.**

Chapter 14

"What Else Can I Do?"

_"He got what he needs for the Tenseiga. I guess now we can get Kagome and go home," _Inuyasha thought silently, looking up. The hanyou was out on the roof of the Song Shan shrine while his father and Yuka slept inside. Inuyasha lowered his eyes and picked up the sheathed Tetsusaiga around his waist, drawing the fang. His reflection glinted dully on the sword's rusted and battered blade.

_"The Tenseiga that he brought back had the same aura as Sesshomaru's, so I guess it has its healing powers now. But the way he looked at me…what else did the priestess tell him that made him look at me like that?" _Inuyasha's brow furrowed. The priestess professed the power to see through time. Did she know who he was? Well that was a given, she had said she'd looked into Toga's future, Inuyasha's identity would have been made known to her if she had. Could she had told Toga about him? He sheathed the sword and closed his eyes. That was not an appealing throught.

He had no desire in messing up time. He and Kagome both had no business being back this far as he was concerned, almost two thousand years before they even met and well over that time before she was even born. He had no idea what changing history this far back could do. In the sengoku jidai things were different, he belonged there, but here he was as out of place as Kagome was.

_"She's the one who has to worry about changing time, not me," _he realized. _"Does she ever think about stuff like that? She did mention something about that Hobo loser being back here or something. What does that mean?" _There was a small sound, and Inuyasha's ear twitched as he lowered his head. He was silent as he watched Toga step out of the shrine and approach the far balcony of the wooden terrace, looking out over the rest of the mountain.

_"Tenseiga's dark power has been suppressed, but a new power has replaced the meidou," _Toga said to himself, drawing the newly enchanted sword. The Tenseiga glowed a different hue of blue in the moonlight than before. Toga turned the blade in his hand, looking over the swirls of energy, now multi-hued blue in dozens of shades of blue. A small image appeared in the sword between bands of power, and Toga turned his eyes.

"You need not hide from me, Inuyasha," he called, lowering the Tenseiga and placing it on the wooden railing before him. Inuyasha stood up and leapt down from the roof, padding on the platform slightly.

"I just figured you wanted to be alone," Inuyasha explained, folding his arms into the sleeves of his haori.

"I do, but I would not be entirely adverse to some company," Toga replied. The two were silent for a moment as Toga looked down at the Tenseiga.

"Lady Song told me the fate of my Tenseiga," he said after a moment. Inuyasha gasped slightly.

"Yeah?" he asked carefully. So had she told him what he was after all?

"She claims a youkai named Sesshomaru will complete my meidou many centuries in the future. She tells me this Sesshomaru shall be my son," Toga continued. "I shall leave the Tenseiga to my son. Do you comprehend what that means, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha didn't respond. Toga didn't need him too. Inuyasha knew his father's fate and the events with Takemaru of Setsuna and his mother that would lead to his downfall after the battle with Ryukotsusei. But if Lady Song, a priestess a lot wiser than him, hadn't told Toga, what right did he have to?

"It means I shall not live to see the Tenseiga reach its full power," Toga finished, looking down at the sword. He reached down to his hip and drew the Tetsusaiga, laying it down beside its brother. The two swords gently pulsed in recognition of their twin, and Toga lay a hand over the blades and breathed deeply, molten eyes drifting shut. Inuyasha let his mouth open slightly. So, that had been the terrible secret Lady Song had shared with him.

"So what do you intend to do?" Inuyasha asked. Toga let out his breath and raised his head.

"I shall live my life as best as I am able, do what I can and must, and when the time comes I shall face my destiny with honor and dignity," he said after a moment.

"That's it?" Inuyasha protested. His outburst caused the taiyoukai to open his eyes and turn to face him. "You just got told you're going to die and you're just going to go on with your life as if it doesn't matter?"

"What else can I do?" Toga demanded angrily. He calmed himself and sighed. "You are young and naïve, Inuyasha. You still have much to learn. Idealism is a wonderful trait to have, but at the end of the day it is just that – an idea. Death comes for us all, youkai, hanyou and human alike. It comes swifter or slower for some, but in time it comes all the same. It is the way of all things for them, in time, to pass. It is a sad truth, but one that will not be denied. When you have held the power of hell in your hand and felt its dark maw clamoring for you, perhaps then you will understand."

"You've accepted this…" Inuyasha whispered, slowly shaking his head.

"I accept that even if Lady Song had not told me, I would still die. And even if I were to survive the death preordained for me, then what? I shall merely die at a later date," Toga said. "Do not misunderstand me, Inuyasha. I do not speak with bitterness in my heart. I will surely still survive for many centuries yet. Lady Song said it was to my son the Tenseiga would go, and I am not even mated yet. My time, though apparently shorter than I had expected, is still long. It is not the time we spend in this world that matters, it is _how_ we spend it. And if anything this revelation had renewed me to build my kingdom faster and stronger, to see its glory fulfilled earlier so that I may enjoy it all the more while I am able."

"But you'll still die," Inuyasha protested. It was one thing to know his father would die, that was history, future history, but to hear him talk about the subject so nonchalantly…

"So? As I said, death comes for us all. The only real truth regarding mortality, Inuyasha, is not to hide from death or wish for its delay. To truly live is not to fear death, but revere life. Life is far too short to waste on fear and hatred and conquest when there are greater, better things to pursue." Toga smiled slightly, and gave a low chuckle. "In that vein, I have made a decision here tonight. Hatsutenka shall be pleased upon my return."

Inuyasha was silent at his father's words. He not only seemed to not care about the news of his death, but he almost…relished it.

"You've been thinking about this huh?" he asked.

"Yes," Toga nodded. "Lady Song's words have caught me off guard, but they shall not deter me." Inuyasha nodded back at his father.

"Is that all she told you?" he asked cautiously. Toga lifted his head, thoughts of his distant but still impending doom flittering away.

"Perhaps you should answer that question yourself, Inuyasha," he said, turning around to lock molten eyes with the hanyou. Inuyasha was slightly surprised by Toga's response, and he let it show. "Tell me, my mysterious hanyou companion…is there anything else Lady Song _could_ have told me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Inuyasha defended, not taking his father's bait. Toga smirked and turned back, sheathing the Tenseiga.

"I do not know why you feel the need to keep your secrets from me, Inuyasha," he said, picking up the Tetsusaiga. He scrutinized the fang for a moment, and then sheathed it too. "But, know what whatever secrets you have, they are yours to keep or to share, on your will." Toga turned and marched back into the shrine without casting the hanyou a glance. He stopped at the doorway to the shrine.

"Tomorrow morning we shall begin our journey back to the camp, and upon our return you shall retrieve your companion. I shall then begin researching a way to return you to your era."

Toga entered the shrine, and Inuyasha lowered his head and turned back to where he had stood a moment ago. The long-healed wounds from his father's death began to reopen themselves, and he willed them away again.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha turned as Yuka stepped out from the doorway of the shrine. "You smell of sadness. Why?" she asked softly.

"It's not your business," Inuyasha scowled, looking away.

"You're right, it's not," Yuka agreed. "But I do believe you and I once spoke the same words in reverse." Inuyasha grunted, not willing to give the neko the satisfaction of being correct.

"It's not like I could tell you even if I wanted to," Inuyasha said.

"The only secrets we truly keep are the ones we want kept," Yuka recited. Inuyasha turned to look at her. "Ryo used to say that," she explained.

"Your brother?" Inuyasha confirmed. Yuka nodded. "He sounds like an idiot," the hanyou snapped.

"He was," Yuka smiled. "That's how he got killed protecting his pup."

"He had a pup?" Inuyasha asked. Yuka nodded and walked past the hanyou, leaning forward on the balcony.

"By a human mother," she whispered softly. Inuyasha's face fell slightly. That, he hadn't expected. "She named him Yukio after me, before she died. Ryo was busy cleaning him with the midwife, he wasn't even there to hold her hand when she went. That task was mine," Yuka continued.

"I didn't know…" Inuyasha mumbled. "When I asked the other day…sorry."

"Thank you, but it is alright. Sakura and I were sister, pack sisters that ran deeper than any blood bond. When she died, Ryo fell apart. He barely hunted or ate and when summoned by the inu no taisho he was always late. I ended up going on his behalf most of the time, when I wasn't taking care of Yukio. He wasn't my pup, he was Ryo's, but his true mother was dead and Ryo could barely stand to be near it. He hated himself for neglecting his own pup, but he couldn't help it. He said Yukio's scent was too much like hers."

"So if Ryo died, what happened to Yukio?" Inuyasha asked, leaning back on the balcony beside her. Yuka sucked in a breath.

"Sakura came from a human village to the south. When Ryo took her as a mate, the villagers exiled her. I was away on a summon from Toga. Somehow they must have heard about Sakura's death. I don't know the whole reason why they came. But they attacked the cave where Ryo and I stayed. Ryo knew the villagers, he saw them as pack even if they hated him. He refused to strike them down, and they killed him. Yukio…" Yuka closed her eyes. "I never found him again. There wasn't a body when I returned, but you know humans, they're more like animals than we are. When I went to the village, their priest turned me away and erected a barrier. I caught a trace of Yukio's scent there, but I couldn't investigate. When I came back the next day, the barrier was still up. By the time it was down, weeks had passed and then there wasn't any whiff of his scent."

"Do you think they spared him?" Inuyasha asked. Yuka snorted and opened her eyes.

"Do you?" she muttered. Inuyasha blinked. He knew that not all humans were wicked and ignorant, but the majority of them…he had about as many illusions about them as Yuka did. Factor in that Yukio was a hanyou pup…

"Alright, your turn," the neko said suddenly. Inuyasha frowned and struggled to find a way to explain it without jeopardizing time.

"I told you my father was an inu," he said slowly. Yuka nodded. "It's just…he died, and I'm long over it, but now I've been traveling around with Toga for the last few days, and I'm going home soon…it's like…"

"You're losing him again," Yuka finished. Inuyasha smirked wryly.

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted, looking up at the night sky. Yuka turned her back to the wood balcony and crossed her arms as she shared his view.

For a brief moment, inu and neko put aside their differences, united in their sorrow for the past and the opportunities it had robbed them of.

* * *

"Upon our arrival, tell the camp to pack right away," Toga instructed the hanyou and neko following him. The trio was taking a brisk but more leisurely pace than the night before, and with the rush of the night's revelations past Inuyasha was grateful fro that. Suddenly, Toga stopped and sniffed the air. His lips curled up in a snarl.

"What is it my lord?" Yuka asked.

"Blood," Toga hissed, leaping forward. The taiyoukai took off into a youki-spurred dash across the Chinese landscape, and Inuyasha and Yuka broke into a run to be left behind. A few minutes later, the trio halted in front of what was left of Toga's companions. Inuyasha lifted the sleeve of his haori, and Yuka turned away. Toga surveyed the scene with a quiet fury.

It was obvious a battle had taken place, the many bodies of varying armor and weapon designs told the tale of a Chinese attack. As Toga walked among the corpses, a more sinister story unfolded. Tents and tarps and cooking fires lay smoldering, and more than a few of the corpses had been burned. Toga knelt by the charred ruins of a tent covering and picked up an arrow, it's head wrapped in dried grass and soaked in tree sap. The smell of fire even now blanketed the area.

"My lord!" Toga turned as one of the corpses littering the ground climbed to its feet. Inuyasha and Yuka beat the taiyoukai there as the mortally wounded Chinese soldier vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing a battered and bloody Oinari.

"Oinari," Toga commanded, kneeling in front of the kitsune. "What has happened here?"

"We were attacked in the night…" Oinari coughed. "A Chinese army, they had archers. The tents were aflame and by the time the ones that could escape did, they were shot down. We brought down a few of them, but the arrows and bolts were a storm, and there were horseback warrior…" he turned and spit a clot of sticky red blood onto the dirt, and Inuyasha watched in disgust as the kitsune licked his red lips. "I…I hid…forgive me…"

"Forgive the survivor of a massacre?" Toga growled. "For what?" He stood and looked over the battlefield. "What else can you tell me of the army?"

"They were led by a mighty warrior, a bandit with a speed and strength unlike his age. I overhead them speaking when the battle ended…they called him Liu Bang…" Oinari wheezed. "They moved on, to the south several hours before sunrise…they said they were to rendezvous with a Qin army." Toga's eyes narrowed.

"They attacked our army and are meeting with the Qin," Yuka breathed.

"They know we are here," Toga finished, stepping out into the battlefield. Inuyasha knelt and draped Oinari's arm over his shoulder, helping him up.

"You gonna live?" he asked.

"I think so," Oinari replied. "How's my tail?" Inuyasha looked over his shoulder.

"Bloody, matted and missing a few clumps of hair," he said dryly.

"I'll be fine then," Oinari grinned crookedly. Yuka turned from the two to face Toga as he looked over the horizon.

"My lord, if the army of this Liu Bang was on horseback as Oinari said, we could never reach the camp fast enough with their lead," she said. "What are we to do?"

"Get on," Toga growled. Inuyasha and Oinari stepped up beside Yuka.

"Wha?" Inuyasha asked.

"Get…_on_…" Toga growled, falling forward onto his hands. The trio stepped back as swirls of yellow youki flashed red. Toga's eyes glowed crimson, and his head ripped back in a feral howl as tufts of white fur exploded out of the holes and gaps in his armor and clothing. His face elongated, gleaming white fangs sliding over his lip. The clothing and armor vanished into the sea of long, white fur. Long strands of hair coiled out of the taiyoukai's backside, curling around each other and forming a thick tail. Fingers and hands and toes and feet shifted, bones melded and split, forming an identical set of four paws.

And all the while, he _grew_.

Inuyasha watched, his mouth hanging open in awe as his father rose to blot out the sun above, a gigantic canine at least as twice as big as he could remember Sesshomaru being, probably larger than that. A deep, angry growl reverberated through the air, and Oinari gulped.

"I-I think he said get on," he reminded shakily. Inuyasha nodded and grabbed the kitsune's legs, leaping up onto his father's back. Yuka landed behind, and three each grabbed tufts of hair.

With another snarl of rage, the transformed inu-youkai coiled its haunches and fired like the fastest bullet over the Chinese countryside.


	15. You Are Not Invincible

Displacement 

Chapter 15

"You Are Not Invincible"

"Quite an impressive army, general," Ying Zheng smiled, galloping his horse in front of the rows of armored soldiers as they stood near the Qin-Chu border. General Wang Jian nodded from his own horse.

"Of course, sir, I handpicked the finest soldiers in the army for your campaign," he explained.

"Oh," Ying Zheng sighed. "Such a waste them, considering most of them shall die…increase the training regiment by two hours for the other troops and send out more conscription officers into the outer villages. We'll have to replace their ranks." Wang Jian nodded, and leaned forward as the army slowed to a stop. A small, but still formidable army on many horses stopped not far away, the lead rider galloping up to Ying Zheng and the rider jumping to the ground. He was older than Ying Zheng and had the fewest strands of silver hair weaving among the black, and he was slightly taller. But he possessed the same type of armor the Qin Lord had donned and held the same careful, alert poise of a warrior.

"Lord Ying Zheng of Qin, the state of Han rides to serve you this day," he said, kneeling.

"Rise, Liu Bang. Tell me how your attack on the yaoguai splinter group went," Ying Zheng said, waving his hand. Prince Liu Bang of Han stood.

'We attacked during the night and only suffered a few dozen causalities. The great warriors our armies spoke of either were exaggerated, or not present. We killed most of them," Liu Bang turned and waved a hand forward. A couple of the few Han soldiers not on horseback came to stand beside Liu Bang, a Japanese man being pulled behind them, his hands bound. They pushed him to his knees in front of Ying Zheng.

"We have exactly six survivors taken prisoner, my lord. They have not been forthcoming with information regarding their presence in Han. Perhaps they would speak to you," Liu Bang continued. Ying Zheng's gaze turned on the Japanese survivor, and he burst out laughing, almost falling backwards off his horse. Wang Jian, Liu Bang and the closer soldiers all looked at their ruler strangely.

"You're an idiot, Liu Bang," Ying Zheng smiled, as if that explained his outburst. "I cannot speak their barbaric tongue and would rather have mine cut off than lower myself to learn it. What does it matter what they are here for, they will die all the same if we know or not and then it will not matter."

"Then what would you have us do with them?" Liu Bang asked, annoyed at the lord's insults. Ying Zheng put a hand to his waist and leapt down from his horse, drawing his sword and whipping it out. The tip of the blade turned red as the soldier's neck was sliced, and he gasped and choked as he fell back, his captors letting go of his bonds in shock.

"Something to that effect will do nicely," Ying Zheng nodded, climbing back on his horse. Liu Bang nodded and climbed onto his own. "Now, you and the Han shall ride first and lead the attack. The slower, hardier Qin foot army shall follow to hit them with a second wave when they are tired. I shall lead them."

"But my lord, if we rush the camp without your archers and soldiers, then my army will suffer heavy casualties," Liu Bang frowned, already having an idea that that was the point.

"A sacrifice for the glory of Qin, Liu Bang, is a sacrifice I am willing to command," Ying Zheng smirked. "Although I would rather you watch yourself in the battle, you've been good for festering out the rebel factions scattered about and you're moderately more useful to me as an informant than a martyr."

"Of course, my lord," Liu Bang sighed, climbing onto his horse. When Ying Zheng had sent word of his demand for the Han to assist him, Liu Bang had been reluctant to follow but knew what lay in store for him if he refused. Han was subject to Qin and he had no choice. The Han people knew that Ying Zheng was a madman and Liu Bang had gathered his army before a village crowd of glum faces. Anyone who thought Ying Zheng would not put the Han troops before his own in battle was as delusional as the man himself.

"My lord, what if the great warrior you spoke of is here? What shall we do?" Liu Bang asked, trotting his horse up alongside Ying Zheng's.

"I shall meet him in battle and strike him down," Ying Zheng replied. Liu Bang frowned. He had heard both the rumors of what had happened to the first Qin army and heard first-hand the testimony of a patrol group that had encountered the splinter group in Han.

"Although I have no doubt you are a mighty warrior, my lord, it may surprise you to learn you are not invincible," he said carefully. Ying Zheng turned to look at the Han leader blankly, then lashed out a hand and backhanded him across his face. The quick blow caught Liu Bang off balance and he tumbled off the side of his horse.

"You would do well to watch your mouth, Liu Bang, or I shall have it cut from your skull," Ying Zheng growled. Liu Bang put a hand on the saddle of his horse as he stood, his pride more wounded than anything else. "Besides," Ying Zheng smirked. "Even he cannot defeat me. Not as I am now. Now them, if you have no further objections?" Ying Zheng locked eyes with Liu Bang, challenging him to speak.

"No, my lord," he said bitterly, climbing onto his horse again. "The armies of Han will ride for you, and they are willing to die for you."

"And so they shall," Ying Zheng chuckled, lashing the reigns of his horse. The steed began trotting forward past the wooden stumps and decaying corpses lining the Qin-Chu border, and Liu Bang, Wang Jian and the combined army of Qin and Han hefted their weapons and prepared to follow their insane dictator into battle.

* * *

The camp youkai turned their heads and sniffed the air seconds before Toga touched down on the dirt at the foot of the barrier. With a whirl of wind and youki, the taiyoukai shifted back into his human guise, leaving Inuyasha with Oinari and Yuka to touch down behind him. The taiyoukai materialized in a kneeling position and quickly stood and stalked towards the camp.

"Lord Toga," a koumari youkai whispered, having the courage to speak while the rest of the camp stared.

"I want all the warriors awake, armed and ready for battle," Toga barked, loud enough for half the camp to hear. "We have been discovered, the Qin and Han may be riding towards us as we speak." The camp went alive with activity at Toga's order, youkai from every corner rushing to gather weapons and armor and distribute them to the slower and more vulnerable humans.

"What about me?" Toga turned as Inuyasha stepped up to him, passing Oinari's shoulder to Yuka. "He has Kagome," Inuyasha hissed. "If he's attacking after sending me here then he must have done something to her!"

"Your companion's fate is of little concern to me now," Toga growled, turning and marching through the camp, tossing weapons to the disorganized soldiers. "You will remain here and assist in the battle, we do not have time to deduce the maiden's fate." Inuyasha bared his teeth, and stepped forward out of a restraining hand from Yuka to grab the shoulder of his father's armor and spin him around.

"Then _make_ time!" he snarled, fisting the front of Toga's kimono. Tgoa quickly snarled back and lashed out a hand, sending the hanyou flying back. The two inus glared at each other before Toga backed down, only slightly though.

"You are needed here," he grated. "If we are able to hold the lines without you then go, if not than you will stay. You placed yourself under my command Inuyasha, and I would expect you to remember and honor that."

"I placed myself under your command if you would find a way for me and Kagome to get home! That might be a little difficult if she's _dead_, which she might be!" Inuyasha shot back. Toga glared and thought for a moment.

"You will stay and fight here, and if we are able to hold the line without you, you may go," he decided. Inuyasha looked ready to protest again, but held his tongue and nodded curtly. Toga turned his attention from the hanyou and surveyed the camp.

"Leave the tents up, they will provide cover!" he snapped at two youkai taking down the poles for one construct. "Yuka, take Oinari into the castle, tell all you meet it will serve as a resting grounds. And send the priestesses there and tell them to erect a barrier, if we cannot hold the camp we will fall back there."

"Yes my lord," Yuka nodded, carrying Oinari towards the small castle. Toga turned his head and sniffed. Inuyasha watched as he growled and stalked towards the edge of the camp, drawing Tetsusaiga. Toga halted at the edge of the encampment and glared at the horizon.

"They are coming," he growled, tightening the grip on his sword.

"But they can't see us through the barrier, right?" Inuyasha asked. Toga drew back the Tetusaiga, swirls of youkai gathering along the blade. He lashed the blade out into the ground, sending shockwaves of energy forward, tearing up the ground. Inuyasha looked up at the Kaze-no-Kizu hit Toga's barrier, causing it to ripple and vanish, noticeable only by the slight change in the breeze. The camp's activity halted to stare at their commander's outburst.

"Let them come," Toga muttered, hefting the Tetsusaiga onto his shoulder.

* * *

"Your meal," the guard said, sliding a small slab of thin, polished wood through a hole in the bamboo bars. Kagome glared at the small scraps of cooked meet and bread on the primitive tray.

"Not hungry," she mumbled.

"Please, you must eat, you did not eat at all yesterday either," the guard pleaded. "If you do not eat, Lord Ying Zheng will…"

"What?" Kagome laughed bitterly. "He's too busy trying to get into my pants to kill me." The guard gave her a strange look at the modern expression, but let it drop and walked back to the doorway to the prison. Kagome looked up at the window and sighed, not wondering for the first time what was happening on the outside.

There was a knock on the wooden door of the prison, and the guard moved to pull it back.

"Ryuichi. What are you doing here?" he asked, stepping back. Kagome sat up as the rotund man followed the guard into the cell.

"Greetings, Lady Kagome," he smiled, bowing.

"You bastard, you told Ying Zheng about the jewel shards!" she hissed, jumping to her feet.

"I assure you I did not, Lady Kagome," Ryuichi frowned. "I fear it was advisor Li Si who informed him. As punishment for not telling him myself I am currently facing possible imprisonment."

"So what, what does that have to do with me?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi opened his mouth to speak, and stepped back from the bars with a gasp.

"Guard, what is that?" he asked, staring at Kagome in shock. Kagome looked around for the source of Ryuichi's surprise, not seeing anything. The guard stepped in front of Ryuichi, and he snapped his arms around his head. One arm came to clench over his neck while the other hand clamped over his nose and mouth. As Kagome's eyes widened, Ryuichi fell backwards as the guard flailed, his movements slowing after a few moments. Ryuichi put a hand on the guard's neck, then rose and reached into his robes, withdrawing a dagger.

"Quickly now, that may have attracted attention," he hissed, slicing the leather strips holding the door of the cell closed.

"What are you doing?" Kagome gasped, coming to the bars.

"Getting you out of here, obviously," Ryuichi grunted, working on the leather with slight difficulty.

"You'll be executed if he finds out you're helping me," Kagome protested. Ryuichi nodded.

"I have plans for that, I assure you," he replied. The final strip of leather holding the door of the cell closed was cut, and Ryuichi tossed the bamboo door away. "Help me," he instructed, kneeling and undoing the straps holding the guard's armor closed.

"Now what?" Kagome asked, undoing the strap on the other side.

"We need a way to get you out of here," Ryuichi said. "Keep your head low, and don't talk. Many of the soldiers are away, so we will be able to sneak out easier than normal."

"The soldiers are away?" Kagome asked, pulling off the guard's helmet while Ryuichi worked on the plates around his waist and upper legs.

"Yes, Ying Zheng conscripted many of them to ride into battle against the Japanese army on our borders," Ryuichi sighed. Kagome gasped.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered. "Come on, we have to hurry." Ryuichi nodded as the final straps were undone, and he set to work on the red under-covering over the guard's normal clothing.

* * *

Wang Jian, Liu Bang and Ying Zheng led the Han-Qin army up the hillside, stopping at the top. Before them lay a large dip, not a valley but still a steep hill. At the bottom of the hill, to Ying Zheng's amusement, were rows of Japanese soldiers. He surveyed them and was moderately shocked to see a decently prepared and equipped army. They obviously knew they were coming. Ah well, that made it more sporting. Ying Zheng looked down at the tall, regal yaoguai standing at the front of the army, glaring at him with golden eyes. So that was the great general his soldiers had spoken of. Ying Zheng noticed a bright red next to the general's white and black, and turned his head. He saw the source of the red and his lips curled into a smirk.

"So, he is alive," he chuckled, genuinely pleased.

"Your orders, my lord?" Liu Bang asked, staring gravely at the Japanese soldiers. Ying Zheng's smile grew.

"Cut them all down," he whispered. "But leave the one in the red for me." Liu Bang nodded and drew his sword.

"Death with honor is a death worth dying!" he roared, rearing his horse. The Han horse-riders roared their agreement as Liu Bang looked back at them with pity for the inevitable fate. His horse's hooves padded back onto the dirt, and the Han general took off at the gallop down the hillside, his doomed army following him into battle loyally. Ying Zheng watched and turned his head to look at Wang Jian.

"See to it that this battle will be won with heavy Han casualities," he said coldly. Wang Jian bowed, and Ying Jian turned back to the Japanese army, this time locking eyes with a similar but different set to the general's. His smirk found its way back onto his face as he put a hand on his neck, smiling at the warm, gentle pulsing he felt there.

"Now my friend, let us see how strong a yaoguai truly is," he sneered.

**Liu Bang is not an OC, he's another real historical character, and an important one at that. Exactly what he does that makes him so significant will be revealed later, for the time being it might provide slight spoilers.**


	16. How I Will Savour This

Displacement

**For those who haven't heard, the successor to this story, "Love Me, Hate Me", has been posted. I promise lots of action, angst, romance and lust. And who doesn't love a mix of those? **

Chapter 16

"How I Will Savour This"

With a roar, Toga slammed the Tetsusaiga into the ground, unleashing a blast of energy. The front row of horses reared up as the Kaze-no-kizu tore into them, reducing many of them to ash. The riders, scarred and shocked but alive, tumbled to the ground. At the head of the army, Liu Bang's eyes widened and he turned his horse aside. The steed was caught in the side of the stomach and pitched sideways, rolling awkwardly. Liu Bang pulled himself from under the wounded beast and looked down at it as the remainder of the Han army closed the gap between them and their enemies.

Chinese and Japanese armies clash, and Inuaysha ducked to avoid a blade pointed at his head. He swung out the Tetsusaiga and caught the rider with the flat of the blade, pitching them backwards. He grabbed them by the throat and tossed them into the air, hitting another rider and knocking him backwards off his horse.

"Still going for the injury, not the kill I see," Toga observed beside him, slicing his own Tetsusaiga in the air. A smaller blast of youki tore out the ground and the final wave of Han riders collapsed into the groves carved in the dirt. Inuyasha scowled at his father's observation and looked up the hill at the still-standing Qin footarmy.

"I ain't never killed a human willingly," he snarled, ducking and punching a Han that had managed to sneak up behind him. "But I am really tempted to start making exceptions." Toga nodded and stuck his claws through the iron plate covering the chest of one shoulder. He tossed his dying body away and held out his hand. The tips of two of his fingers glowed, and with a snarl, Toga lashed out a whip of glowing green youki energy. Six Han cried out as the attack carved painful but not deadly wounds in their legs. Toga spun and lashed the whip out again, catching another Han in the neck. Inuyasha's jaw dropped at the sight of the man's head tumbling to the ground.

"Holy shit," he muttered. And he here thought Sesshomaru being so careless towards killing was something he had picked up on his own.

"The destiny of a warrior is to _fight_," Toga snapped, lashing out Tetsusaiga with his free hand and slicing away a sword, hand still gripping the hilt. "I advise you learn that now." Inuyasha scowled and turned. With a scream, he slammed a claw into a Han shoulder's shoulder and sliced the Tetsusaiga through his stomach. The Han gasped, and Inuyasha's eyes widened. The Han went limp, and Inuyasha lowered the Tetsusaiga, staring in horror at the ruby blood running down the fang.

"You made the Tetsusaiga to protect humans, how can you use it to kill them!?" he protested, flicking off the blade in disgust.

"On case you have forgotten, I _am_ trying to protect humans!" Toga replied, slamming a fist into a Han's helmet.

Atop the hill overlooking the battle, Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and lifted a hand into the air.

"Archers, ready!" he commanded. Behind him, two rows of crossbow-armed Qin loaded cartridges of slim iron bolts into their weapons. The bulky but efficient Chinese artillery pieces locked the projectiles into place as their holders pointed them to the sky.

"Wait, my lord!" Ying Zheng looked down as Liu Bang ran up the hill towards him. "If you fire now my men will be slaughtered!" he cried. Ying Zheng scowled and snapped his hand down.

A flurry of crossbow bolts flitted through the air in an arc, the iron storm raining down on the combatants at the foot of the hill. Liu Bang turned and watched in horror as Han and Japanese alike cried out as the thin projectiles stuck in their bodies, several collapsing to the dirt.

"Again!" Ying Zheng roared, lifting his hand again as more bolts clicked into place behind him. He flung his arm again and another volley bombarded the soldiers below. More soldiers fell, and to Liu Bang's horror as the fighting slowed, most of the Han soldiers lay dead or dying in the grass. Ying Zheng raised his arm again and brought down a third wave. Content, he turned his head and gave Wang Jian a curt nod.

"For the glory of Qin!" the general cried, rearing his horse. The Qin army began running down the hill with Wang Jian at their head. Toga took a breath and tensed his grip on Tetsusaiga.

"Hey." Toga turned at the voice to see Inuyasha standing beside him, staring forward. Toga followed his gaze up the hill, and his eyes darkened in understanding at the yellow-robed figure standing there on horseback.

"Go," he ordered, nodding. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and took off at a run. A few of the charging Qin moved to avoid him, others ignored him and others pointed their weapons at him. He pushed them all aside with his claws or Tetsusaiga and finally jumped clear over the last few rows, racing up the hillside. At the top, Ying Zheng turned his horse and smile.

"How I will savour this," he leered, drawing the sword strapped to his waist. With a kick he took off towards the hanyou, a sneer plastered on his face.

Inuyasha saw the Qin Lord approach, and continued his path. Finally Ying Zheng let out a cry and sliced his sword as the distance closed. Inuyasha rolled under the blade and brought a claw up, drawing it along the side of the brown steed. With a neigh, the horse pitched forward and slid down the hillside. Ying Zheng snarled and leapt from the saddle as the horse collapsed, watching the fatally wounded animal try to get up before turning around and rising to his feet.

"I should have killed you the moment I first laid eyes upon you," he declared, undoing the sash holding his yellow robes together. Sash and then robe pooled on the ground at his feet, revealing a full suit of iron armor covering his torso and thighs, the leather and metal tied tinted the distinctive yellow of Chinese nobility. "It would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"Same here," Inuyasha scowled, drawing Tetsusaiga. The steel-cleaving fang shifted and burst into its full form in a rush of youki. Ying Zheng snorted and twirled his own blade in his hand before pointing it at the hanyou. "You have no idea how hard I'm going to kick your ass," the hanyou taunted. Ying Zheng smirked, the words not making sense but the tone unmistakable.

"Then come, Inuyasha," he ordered, lifting his other hand to beckon him. "Show me what a yaoguai warrior is capable of." Inuyasha's lip curled in a snarl. Killing humans was not something he wanted to do. But this bastard had taken Kagome, killed his father's forces and if he had his way would finish the job here.

With a roar of rage, he lifted the Tetsusaiga and charged. Ying Zheng spun and deflected the blade, to Inuyasha's horror.

"What the fuck?" he hissed. How had he blocked the Tetsusaiga? The thought had to wait as the lord began a counter-attack, and Inuyasha swung to block. Blades slid off each other in a deadly dance of attack, block and counter-attack. Inuyasha growled as Ying Zheng continued his assault. There was no way that sword could block the Tetsusaiga, what was going on?

"You appear to be struggling," Ying Zheng taunted, sweeping to his knees and trying a lower strike. Inuyasha jumped back to avoid it and brought Tetsusaiga down. Ying Zheng dodged to the left and rose to his feet.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha snapped, advancing. Ying Zheng narrowly dodged each slash, his smirk widening evermore with each unsuccessful attack.

"If you wish you may request the assistance of one of your wretched companions," Ying Zheng laughed, swinging and knocking another attack aside.

"I don't need help to beat you!" Inuyasha cried, slashing. Tetsusaiga was blocked again, and the hanyou brought up his other hand. "You wanna fight, we'll fight _my_ way!" Inuyasha continued. His claws slammed into Ying Zheng's jaw, raking three gashes across his cheek. With a gasp, he pitched back and slid back on the grass.

"I'm not going to lose to you," Inuyasha grated, holding out the Tetsusaiga. With an undignified grunt, Ying Zheng climbed to his feet, turning to face the hanyou with a furious glare. Blood dripped down his face from the wounds.

"I have never met anyone so pathetic to strike me like that," he hissed.

"Keh, it won't be the last time. One more like that and you'll be ready to quit old man," Inuyasha snapped. Ying Zheng sneered.

"This?" he chuckled darkly. Inuyasha's eyes slowly went wide. "This…is only a flesh wound." As he spoke, Ying Zheng's face glowed, and to Inuyasha's shock, the three gashes there slowly closed. Ying Zheng lifted a leather-gloved hand to wipe off the remaining blood, revealing perfectly unmarred flesh.

"How…the hell…" Inuyasha whispered in awe. Ying Zheng flicked his sword out to the side and held out his hand.

"Now. Shall we continue?" he offered. Inuyasha didn't respond. With a snort, Ying Yheng brought his sword back over his shoulder and charged.

* * *

Toga lashed out his whip, slicing of an arm of a soldier and retracted it as he spun and cleaved off the head of another charging him from behind. There was a cry, and Toga lifted Tetsusaiga behind his back to block a sword.

"So, you _are_ as a mighty warrior as they said." Toga turned to regard the aging warrior who lifted his sword back, and considered slicing him in two.

"Who are you to speak to me in battle?" he demanded.

"I am the bringer of your death," Wang Jian sneered, drawing a second sword from his back and lunging. Toga stood silent and drew Tenseiga, effortlessly blocking each of the Chinese general's strikes with ease.

"Your technique is impressive," he conceded. "But you are no match for me."

"You overestimate yourself yaoguai filth!" Wang Jian laughed. Toga snorted and noticed something flawed in Wang Jian's technique.

"You seem certain of your victory," he said, waiting for his chance. Tetsusaiga smoked slightly as it reverted to its katana form.

"I shall prevail! I am a loyal servant of the Great Lord Ying Zheng!" Wang Jian declared. "You are nothing before me. I am his faithful general, Wang Jian!" Wang Jian swung his swords, and Toga raised Tenseiga to catch them. At the side time, Tetsusaiga came up on Wang Jian's side. He turned and gasped.

A moment later, two swords clanged on the ground in front of Wang Jian's feet. Behind him, his head fell a moment later. Toga sheathed Tenseiga and shifted Tetsusaiga back to its true form as Wang Jian's decapitated body fell backwards.

"Good for you," he muttered, turning back to the larger battle.

* * *

Inuyasha leapt back and jumped, bringing Tetsusaiga down. Ying Zheng leapt aside and the fang carved a deep gash in the dirt. Inuyasha growled and brought it to the side to deflect an attack and thrust forward. The blade moved and swatted Tetsusaiga to the ground.

"How the hell is your sword standing up to Tetsusaiga?" he demanded.

"Oh? Wouldn't you like to know?" Ying Zheng replied, parrying another thrust. Inuyasha jumped back and focused. The swirls of yellow energy around Tetsusaiga flared up and spun faster.

"On second thought, _I don't really care!_" he cried, bringing the blade over his head. "Kaze-no-kizu!"

Tetsusaiga slammed into the grass and released five trails of golden youki energy. Ying Zheng gasped and held out his sword as the attack slammed into him. Inuyasha watched as the Qin Lord's form vanished in the light, leaving a cloud of smoke and dust in the wake. He grunted and licked his dry lips.

"That's…it…" he hissed. The smoke began to clear, and a shimmering pink bubble appeared in the middle of the five slashes carved by the Kaze-no-kizu. As Inuyasha watched, the dust settled. Panting, wounded with numerous cuts over his body and leaning on his sword for leverage, but still alive…

"That's not possible," Inuyasha said, stepping back. The glowing barrier dispersed as Ying Zheng slowly climbed to his feet, taking a shaky step back. He looked up and gasped for breath as the cuts on his body slowly began to heal.

"Very…impressive…" he conceded, cracking his neck. "I did not expect you…to wield such power…" He put a hand on the blade near the crossguards of his sword, and lifted the weapon into the air.

"But I live yet…" he declared. "And now, I do believe it is my turn!" Ying Zheng whipped the blade behind his back, a glowing pink aura appearing over the sword. With a shout, he swung it forward and released a glowing pink arc of energy.

Inuyasha gasped and lifted Tetsusaiga to block the attack. It hit hard and he grunted as his heels dug into the dirt, pushing him back several feet.

"Nice try," he sneered. "But I'm still alive too." Smoke filled his vision, and he looked down. "No!" Smoke rose from Tetsusaiga as it glowed yellow and shrunk. Inuyasha lifted the rusty katana to eye level.

"Tetsusaiga's aura…" he whispered. It had been…purified? He turned his focus from the sword as Ying Zheng laughed.

"Well, this is an interesting and unexpected turn of events," he called. "I wonder, yaoguai. How good are you a fighter with that mighty blade in your hand?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth as Ying Zheng called another aura around his sword.

"Let us find out, shall we?" he finished. With a final battle cry, he swung his sword forward and let loose another blast of purifying energy.

**To date, the details of the death of General Wang Jian remains unknown. He was, however, the commander of the Qin army during Ying Zheng's campaign to conquer Chu, which is the general time this story takes place in. If he was actually killed or not during said campaign has not been decisively proven. As well, there were 4 historically significant "Wang Jians" during different Chinese time periods, so researching this specific Wang Jian to find a specific date of death was difficult.**

**Contrary to how you're likely picturing it, the crossbows used in the time of the Qin were bulky and made of wood, about the size of a soldier's arm and held at the hip. This variant is known as the repeating crossbow, and although it lacked accuracy, it was easy to build and train with and fired very quickly – a skill archer armed with a Qin repeating crossbow could fire ten bolts in fifteen seconds. The repeating crossbow typically had low range unless the normal iron bolts were replaced with wooden ones. However, wooden bolts were very ineffective against armored troops, which, combined with the circumstances of the battle, is why the Qin are still using iron bolts in this chapter.**

**I also sincerely apologize for the admittedly bloodthirsty depiction of Toga in this scene. I myself wasn't really comfortable showing him like this, but hey, he's a warrior, a taiyoukai _and_ he's pissed off, what do you expect?**


	17. You Have No Idea

Displacement

Chapter 17

"You Have No Idea"

Inuyasha leapt and screamed as the pink wave of energy exploded where he had been a moment ago, tearing up the ground. Ying Zheng drew back his weapon and fired another blast into the air. The wave missed Inuyasha by inches, and he winced as the air crackled in its wake. He landed crouched and glared at the Qin Lord.

"I am so gonna kick your ass," he snarled.

"You made that claim some time ago, and have yet to make good on it!" Ying Zheng reminded, charging. Inuyasha ducked to avoid the glowing blade. Three more slashes came and he narrowly avoided each of them. The fourth slice met the weakened Tetsusaiga, and Inuyasha let out a cry as waves of purity energy rippled through the air where the blades met. He slowly turned his head and gasped as the tips of a few strands of his hair began to darken so close to the energy source.

"When I first saw you, I thought perhaps you were a warrior," Ying Zheng sneered, pushing the hanyou back. "How wrong I was." Inuyasha crouched down, Ying Zheng's sword coming closer to his head. He watched as three strands of silver hair turned grey, then black. With a growl, he reached out and hooked a foot around Ying Zheng's ankle. The ruler looked down, and Inuyasha fell backwards, rolling and flipping him overhead. Ying Zheng flew behind him and landed heavily, rolling and sliding down the hill slightly. Inuyasha stood up and looked at his hair. Satisfied the change had reverted, he charged towards him as Ying Zheng slowly stood up.

Ying Zheng cried out as a fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him further back. Inuyasha aimed another punch, but Ying Zheng rolled away and brought his sword back up. Inuyasha leapt back to avoid its path and jumped higher to avoid a blast of pink energy.

"Inuyasha!"

The two stopped and Inuyasha turned his head, running up the hill. Ying Zheng snarled and let loose another blast of purity. Inuyasha jumped and watched as it sailed under his feet. From his higher vantage point he saw the source of the voice.

"Kagome!"

Kagome jumped down from Ryuichi's horse and ran towards him. The hanyou landed and grunted as the miko slammed into his chest and threw her arms around him.

"I was so worried, I thought you might be hurt!" she cried, burying her face in his robes. Inuyasha sighed and patted the back of her hair.

"Yeah…you okay?" he asked, pulling back slightly. Kagome nodded and looked past him to see Ying Zheng glaring at them angrily lower on the hill.

"Inuyasha, he got my jewel shards!" she explained. Inuyasha growled and turned to face Ying Zheng. "He's got one in his chest and another in the blade of his sword," Kagome finished.

"So that's how you got all this power," Inuyasha leered. "I knew a little weasel like you couldn't be that strong on your own."

"Silence!" Ying Zheng roared. "It does not matter how I acquired this power, all that matters is that is mine now!"

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and jumped left as the ground tore up beneath them. Ryuichi's horse reared, and Ying Zheng looked up at the noise.

"Ah, at last you show your true colors," he sneered. "I should have known someone like you wouldn't be long for this court once you got the chance to betray me."

"My lord, this is madness!" Ryuichi protested. "Please stop this now!"

"I agree. I grow bored and desire the end of this little game!" Ying Zheng nodded, turning to where Inuyasha and Kagome had landed.

"Stay out of the way," Inuyasha instructed, shrugging off his robe and handing it to her. "Run for the camp and don't stop. They'll keep you safe, just tell them I sent you." Kagome nodded and jogged towards the camp. "I'll handle him," he finished, turning back to Ying Zheng, holding out the rusty untransformed Tetsusaiga.

"How disgustingly noble," Ying Zheng snorted. "You would forfeit your own life just to save that woman?"

"A hundred times over," Inuyasha nodded. Ying Zheng smiled.

"Then I shall make sure your efforts are not in vain!" he cried, firing another wave of energy. Inuyasha leapt over it, and Ying Zheng was in the air to meet him. The blade pulsed, and Inuyasha fell to the ground, gasping. Ying Zheng landed and drew back his sword.

"Now die!" he roared, letting loose the blast. Inuyasha had just finished climbing to his feet and turned to see the pink wave slam into his chest.

With a scream, the hanyou's clothing tore and shattered, and his skin singed. Inuyasha was sent flying backwards, rolling and landing in a dirty bruised heap, his hair dark grey with purification and smoke rising from his body.

A ways down the hill, the Tetsusaiga landed and stuck in the ground with clang.

"So, it is done," Ying Zheng chuckled, staring at Inuyasha's motionless body. "I must admit you were much stronger than I expected. But, I am the Lord of Qin. And a pathetic yaoguai like you could never defeat me. Now," Ying Zheng held out his sword and summoned another purity aura, the jewel shard in the blade glowing brightly. "Stand, and give me the honor of knocking you down one final time," he ordered.

Inuyasha reached out and put a hand on the ground, shaking as he pushed himself to his knees. His hair went back to white, then silver as he drew in several breaths, his dirt-clumped hair falling over his face in waves.

"Good," Ying Zheng nodded. "Now then," he drew back the sword, "is there anything you would like to say to me, before you die?"

Inuyasha let out a deep growl and climbed to his feet, raising his head to glare at the Qin Lord with glowing red eyes.

* * *

Toga looked over the battlefield at the dead and dying, most of the soldiers lying on the ground, many sadly his own caught in his own bloodlust. He turned to see another soldier approach him and swing the tip of their blade into the ground.

"So you are the yaoguai general," the soldier said, bowing their head. "I am pleased to meet you."

"You are an ally of Ying Zheng?" Toga asked, brandishing Tetsusaiga.

"A subject. I am Prince Liu Bang of Han. Ying Zheng conquered us some time ago and forced out army to march to aid him this day. The Han are an honorable people. We would not refuse."

"I respect honor," Toga nodded. "But your ruler has none."

"Of that we are agreed," Liu Bang replied. "He has dealt you a great insult today. But the insult he dealt to Han is greater."

"What concern of that is mine?" Toga asked. Liu Bang smiled and stepped back, leaving his sword stuck in the ground.

"None at all," he whispered, spreading his arms. "You see, Lord Toga, although we are different men, like Ying Zheng I am in the interests of longevity. That in mind…I'm also not a fool." Liu Bang turned his back, and Toga stared at him strangely, then turned himself.

"Who are you?" he asked as a young woman stopped panting for breath a few feet away.

"I'm…" Kagome started, lifting her head. Her breath caught. "You…you are…" she stammered.

"I am Taiyoukai Toga of Japan," Toga explained. "And you are, maiden?" Kagome swallowed heavily.

"I'm Kagome. I'm a friend of Inuyasha," she replied. _"That has to be his father! All this way back in time…no wonder he never came back yet."_

Toga nodded, and lifted his head. He sniffed the air and bristled.

"This does not bode well," he muttered, staring up the hill. Kagome turned to see Inuyasha facing off with Ying Zheng. His aura pulsed as he got up, and Kagome shivered.

"Oh no. He's transformed!" she shrieked.

* * *

"Well, enough banter. I grow tired of this," Ying Zheng yawned. "Time to die." He swung and let loose a purity blast. Inuyasha snarled and flung up his arm. The blast hit and pushed him back several inches, but he remained standing. Inuyasha lowered his badly burned arm and began stalking towards Ying Zheng.

"Still more?" he laughed. Another purity blast, and Inuyasha's other arm came up. The skin smoked and sizzled as he kept walking. "You simply cannot accept defeat!" Another blast. Inuyasha took it in the chest and fell to his knees, but stood up a moment later. Ying Zheng stared in horror.

"This is impossible!" he roared, swinging the sword over and over. Three waves of energy flew towards Inuyasha. With a snarl, he drew back his claw and sliced through them in one dash.

"He can't do this, he'll be purified!" Kagome cried. Toga nodded. The hanyou's youki had grown much stronger, but was still waning in the face of so much sacred energy. If he didn't stop soon, there was no telling what could happen to him. Toga had seen youkai be purified before. If they were fortunate, they were destroyed in a single flash of sacred energy. If they were unfortunate, their deaths could take days while their youki bled off and left them powerful. "We have to get him the Tetsusaiga!" Kagome said.

"Tetsusaiga?" Toga frowned. He looked over the battlefield and pointed. "This way," he instructed, walking forward. Liu Bang watched them go quietly, then turned back to the battle on the hill. Kagome reached the Tetsusaiga and groaned.

"It's been purified, with no aura it can't restore him!" she protested. Toga clenched his first and turned around.

"The Tetsusaiga can restore him?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's what it was made for, sealing his youkai blood. Without it he can't control the transformation," Kagome replied. Toga nodded.

"Very well then."

* * *

Ying Zheng was stumbling back now as Inuyasha charged forward.

"Just die!" he yelled, bringing his sword back. A claw wrapped around his wrist, and Ying Zheng's mouth fell open as Inuyasha glared boiling red eyes into the lord's own deep brown, panting. The claw brought Ying Zheng's arm down, and the other claw came up. As Ying Zheng watched in horror, Inuyasha grabbed the tip of the blade and began bending it, his skin burning and blood running down his arm.

"Y…you…" he whispered. Inuyasha sneered as the blade shattered, the iron fragments tumbling to the ground along with a glowing pink jewel shard. Ying Zheng looked down, then back up as the youkai grabbed his arm tighter and cracked his knuckles in front of his face. Ying Zheng swallowed and struggled to speak. "Pl…please don't kill me," he begged. The youkai growled and lowered his face down. The next word was more a growl than a word and almost indecipherable.

"Die."

Ying Zheng threw his head back in a scream of agony as claws slammed right through his armor and into his chest. Inuyasha looked down for a moment, then pulled his arm back. Blood dropped from his fingers along with a few considerable portions of bloody flesh. Tears of pain ran down Ying Zheng's face as he stumbled back, alive and clutching his chest. Inuyasha looked down at the red-stained jewel shard in his hand and dropped it to the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha turned and looked up. Something small, slim and metal spun through the air towards him. Instinctively, he leapt and grabbed the handle. Red eyes cleared to liquid gold with a gasp as Toga's Tetsusaiga pulsed and shifted in his hand, responding to the call of its future owner.

Inuyasha landed and looked down at his bloodstained claws, then down at the sword they held. Finally, his eyes found Toga's. The taiyoukai simply nodded, and Inuyasha turned to face Ying Zheng.

"You took Kagome. You tried to kill Toga. Yuka. Oinari. Everyone. You've killed thousands, torture more, ruined entire lives all just for your own desires," he said. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were one of Naraku's henchmen. But at the end of the battle…you're just a man." Inuyasha shook his head. "I pity you, old man."

"You pity me!?" Ying Zheng roared, drawing to his full height despite the wound in his chest. "I am Lord Ying Zheng of Qin, Ruler of the mightiest people and the future First Emperor! I am Heaven's chosen son, the heir to the throne, and-"

"Dear god, _shut the fuck up_!" Inuyasha cried, drawing the Tetsusaiga back. With a cry of the attack, the Kaze-no-Kizu fired, and Ying Zheng gasped and raised an arm in a futile attempt to defend himself. The waves of youkai washed over him, and the thundering of the winds were drowned out only by the scream of agony.

As the attack subsided, Ying Zheng collapsed to the ground.

"Is he…?" Kagome asked, coming up beside Inuyasha. Ying Zheng put a hand and pushed his torso up, blood pooling on the grass.

"His will to live is incredible," Toga muttered behind them. The lord's arm shook heavily, and with a final breath, Ying Zheng collapsed to the grass. His eyes stared blankly ahead, locked in an empty gaze on the broken pieces of his sword and the two bloody jewel shards among them.

"But not without limit," Toga finished.

"I…did it…" Inuyasha muttered, dropping Tetsusaiga. "I killed him…"

"You did what needed to be done," Toga replied, reaching to pick up his sword. "That is all anyone can ever do." Inuyasha nodded sadly.

"Yeah, but…he was human…"

"Trust me, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, wrapping an arm around his. "I've studied history, and there were a lot of evil people who deserved to die. I think it's safe to say he was one of them."

"I know…still…I'd never taken human life willingly…until today."

"We're not done though," Kagome said. "He lives."

"Huh?" Inuyasha asked, turning to her.

"Ying Zheng lives for around another fifteen years or so to unite China. His death sparks the Han revolution and places the ruler of Han on the throne of imperial power around five years later," Kagome explained, unaware that a few feet behind her, an all-too human set of ears listened with great interest.

"So he was meant to live," Toga said. Kagome nodded, and gasped. Lady Zhou had said this before! Inuyasha had ruined time, it was her place to set it right. She knew what was to happen, and it was her task to ensure that did not change.

"You can fix it!" she cried. Toga looked down at her. "You have the Tenseiga right?"

"Yes," Toga replied, drawing the sword in question.

"You can use it to revive the dead, you can bring him back!" Kagome insisted. Toga looked down at her, then moved to Ying Zheng's corpse. Tetsusaiga pulsed as its meidou began swirling and cloaking the blade in its blue light.

"I see them," Toga muttered, staring down at the ugly green imps wrapping chains around Ying Zheng's body. Toga swung Tenseiga, and the imps vanished in flashes of blue light. The large wound in Ying Zheng's chest closed and healed, and the lord gasped in a breath loudly, turning over and coughing and vomiting into the grass. He clutched his unmarred flesh through the hole Inuyasha had pierced in his armor, shocked.

"Stand, Lord of Qin," Toga growled. Ying Zheng paled and stood, turning slowly. "Hear me now and listen well," Toga leered. "It is by Inuyasha's hand you died. It was by the words of the maiden Kagome that I was convinced to spare you and it is by my sword you have been restored to life. If you are wise, you will leave now. And mark well my face for you would do well to never see it again, unless you wish for it to be the last."

Ying Zheng stared at Toga, his face a mask of rage and fear, but he turned his head away and began walking up the hill, ignoring the bloody bodies of horses and men alike that lay in his path. Kagome and Inuyasha watched him crest the hilltop and keep moving back to the Qin state. Ying Zheng never once turned back.

"You are certain he deserves to live?" Toga asked, walking back to them.

"No," Kagome sighed, shaking her head and kneeling to pick up the jewel shards from the grass. "But he has to." Toga nodded.

"Yes. But if what you said is true, he must also be overthrown," he reminded. "By the Han, you said."

"Yeah," Kagome nodded. Toga grunted, and turned to walk up to the small group, only six, staring blankly over the battlefield. Their commander was kneeling and examining a corpse.

"Liu Bang," Toga muttered. The Han Prince looked over his shoulder as Toga's shadow fell over him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You are allowed to leave," Toga explained. "This battle is lost. You and your remaining followers are free to return to Han."

"Yes," Liu Bang laughed bitterly, waving his head as said followers. "All six of them!"

"Not so," Toga shook his head and looked down at the corpse between them. "That crest on the armor…that is Han?"

"Yes, it is…_was_ the symbol of our nobles, before Ying Zheng had them cut down," Liu Bang replied. Toga looked down and lifted the Tenseiga, slashing the air. The slashes down the armor of the Han soldier vanished as his chest healed, and Liu Bang leapt to his feet as the Han sucked in a breath.

"My prince!" he exclaimed, looking at Liu Bang in awe. "I was certain, I had glimpsed death! I saw blood, and felt great pain…how is it I live?"

"Lord Toga saw fit…to revive you…" Liu Bang whispered as the Han stood. The Han turned to Toga and kneeled, but the taiyoukai turned his head to Liu Bang.

"Tell me, do all the Han wear armor bearing that crest?" he asked.

"Most, but not all, some had crests for their families," Liu Bang explained. Toga nodded and pointed Tetsusaiga over the sea of corpses.

"Then you shall show me these men," he ordered. Liu Bang nodded and led him into the field. Kagome and Inuyasha watched as Tenseiga swung again and again, and one by one the army of Han climbed to its feet. The taiyoukai of Japan and the future, and all-too deserving, founder of the Han Dynasty.

"He's gonna revive his entire army?" Yuka snorted, coming up behind him. "Those two have a lot of work ahead of them." The knowledge of the future fresh in their minds, Inuyasha and Kagome smiled and replied as one.

"You have no idea."

**Chapter 18, the grand finale. Will Inuyasha and Kagome get home? What is the final word in the chapter of Qin and Han? Do not miss the final chapter of Displacement!**


	18. Yeah, I Know

**Displacement**

**Well everyone, an early update, but for a very special reason. Displacement was first posted this very day last year, so what better to celebrate its anniversary than with its ending?**

**I put a lot of work into researching this fic and writing it and your reviews and compliments are all the thanks I need. I hope you all like this final chapter and check out my other stories sometime. Well, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the conclusion and thanks for reading!**

**Oh, and a final note about Oinari. I never quite got to work this into the story, but I had originally designed him to be Shippo's ancestor. Go back and check out his appearance when I described him and you'll see the similarities. Just FYI.**

**EDIT: The awesome author InuGrrrl commissioned a fanart of this story from the excellent artist InuIlrusa-Chan, as a birthday present for me. You can view it here (just take out the spaces): http: / / inuirusa-chan. deviantart. com/ art/Father- and-son- 96628893**

Chapter 18

"Yeah…I Know"

"Just hold still," Kagome muttered. Yuka rolled her eyes and looked away as Kagome splashed some antiseptic on a laceration on Yuka's upper arm. The neko yowled and shot her a glare.

"That stings!" she hissed.

"Oh please, Inuyasha's been gutted a dozen times and he takes it with less whining than that," Kagome replied, pouring a little more. Yuka winced but kept her mouth shut, her pride keeping her in check this time.

"So, you travel with Inuyasha seeking a way to defeat this Naraku," Yuka started.

"Yup," Kagome nodded, fishing out a roll of gauze. Good thing she had stocked up before they had ended up here.

"I have never heard of a miko and a hanyou working together in such a way," Yuka snorted. "How bizarre a world Japan must become."

"You think that's bizarre, you should see my modern era," Kagome laughed.

"Well, I am a full-blooded neko. Perhaps I will someday," Yuka smiled. "If I survive to see your time, perhaps I'll track you down." Kagome thought for a moment.

"Well, I have a human friend named Yuka," she said.

"Not me," Yuka shook her head. "I wouldn't hide like that." Kagome smiled back as she finished wrapping Yuka's wound. "I thank you for your aid, but there are humans who need your help more and I will be healed with a day."

"I know, but I like taking care of people," Kagome shrugged. "Considering how much I bandage up Inuyasha, I've become a natural at it. He's always rushing into fights and getting hurt and telling me it's just a scratch and not to worry and he'll be fine. Then I bandage him and clean him up and he grumbles the entire time without muttering a word of thanks."

"And that is alright with you?" Yuka asked.

"Well, not really, but I'm okay with I guess. Inuyasha isn't one to mince words, as I'm sure you've noticed. Once you get to know him, you get to hear the stuff he doesn't say better than the stuff he does," Kagome explained. Yuka eyed her suspiciously, and Kagome squirmed slightly. "What?"

"My brother once spoke of a woman with that same glow on his face," Yuka smirked. "You love him." Kagome blushed and looked away.

"Yeah, I do," she admitted.

"And does he love you?" Yuka asked.

"Well…I think he does," Kagome sighed. "I'm not sure."

"I thought you could hear the words he doesn't say?" Yuka reminded. "Well, take care of him. He's a good man, even if he acts like an ass sometimes." Kagome smiled and nodded.

"I know."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" Toga asked quietly, looking down the hill as the camp packed up. In the distance, the army of Han was vanishing onto the horizon, Liu Bang's troops restored. The Han prince had offered no shortage of gratuitous words to Toga before they left. Inuyasha had his legs folded beside Toga on the grass, and shrugged.

"I dunno…I didn't know how," he admitted. "Would you have believed me?"

"No," Toga said, drawing the Tenseiga. "But I have seen and heard many things this past week I would not have believed before coming here." Toga looked down at his reflection in Tenseiga's blade.

"Tell me about it…" Inuyasha agreed.

"So, tell me more about Sesshomaru," Toga asked, sheathing Tenseiga.

"Why him?" Inuyasha muttered.

"I have learned much about you. I wish to know about him now," Toga replied.

"He's an ass," Inuyasha spat quickly. He frowned. That wasn't really fair anymore. "Well, not really. He used to be, but…he's got a kid."

"A child? He mates?" Toga asked.

"Well, not a real kid, a human. Rin. I don't know how he came across her but she follows him around and he doesn't seem to mind. If anything he's gone after Naraku for endangering her."

"Hmm…" Toga mused. "And tell me, from your experience prior to this, how did he feel for humans?"

"Hated them. Claimed they had made you soft and weak and that my mother and I dishonored our family," Inuyasha sighed.

"Do not believe such things," Toga said sharply. "I do not know why Sesshomaru feels this way, but if that is true then I understand why it is he who needs Tenseiga. And if your actions against this Naraku your companion mentioned are true, then you bring nothing _but_ honor to me."

"Thanks," Inuyasha smiled, looking up. Toga nodded.

"So…how do I meet your mother? What happens to Hatsutenka that our relationship breaks?" he asked.

"No clue, on either count. Sesshomaru never told me. I'm not even sure if your mate is alive anymore," Inuyasha shrugged. Toga snorted.

"Well, one cannot know everything about their future. I suppose that spoils the surprise of living it. Tell me, do I at least die well?"

"In battle protecting mother from her murderer after reviving her with Tenseiga," Inuyasha nodded. "Your last words to her were what to name me. I had just been born. She saw you last battling Takemaru in the castle. He wasn't all bad, or so Myoga told me, but he fell in love with her and killed her because he couldn't stand her loving a youkai."

"Wait, he was a human?" Toga growled. "I die in battle with a human…disgraceful."

"Well, you were weak. You had just fought a dragon," Inuyasha explained. Toga smiled.

"Ah, a dragon. That is pleasing. Do I kill it?"

"Seal it. I killed it after Naraku let it loose." Toga chuckled and reached down to pat Inuyasha on the shoulder.

"That's my boy," he replied. Inuyasha grinned sheepishly. Toga smiled down at him, then raised his head.

"Now, tell me of this 'Tokijin' blade you said Sesshomaru wielded. What was the name of that ogre who broke the sword?"

* * *

The doors of the throne room burst open, and Li Si jumped a foot as Ying Zheng marched inside and sat on his throne.

"All of you, leave!" he snapped, glaring at the guards. The guards quickly filed out of the room as Li Si bowed.

"My lord, you return! How goes the battle?" he asked.

"Battle?" Ying Zheng growled.

"Against the traitorous Japanese my lord," Li Si clarified.

"I do not recall any Japanese here," Ying Zheng said, looking at his advisor. "Are there any records of this?"

"Yes, of course!" Li Si was confused, but rushed and collected three scrolls. "The spy reports, my lord." He held them out, and Ying Zheng looked at them. With a quick motion of his hand, he grabbed them and flung them at the wall. One of them landed sideways on a torch, catching fire and falling to the floor. Lord and advisor watched as the three pieces of writing caught flame.

"I will ask again, Li Si," Ying Zheng said slowly. "Are there any records of a Japanese army on our soil?" Li Si shook his head. "Then you must be mistaken, for I am sure there was never any such army. Now…leave." Li Si bowed and hurried out of the room. Ying Zheng looked back at the scrolls as they burned and lifted a hand. He flexed his fingers, watching the wrinkles there appear over and over as his muscles clenched and relaxed.

_"At the end of the battle…you're just a man."_

Ying Zheng let out a breath and continued to stare at his hand in silence, the only sound the faint crackling of the torches and the smouldering of the scrolls.

When Li Si returned several hours later, the scrolls were mere embers in a burnt spot on the floor. Ying Zheng was still in the position Li Si had left him in.

* * *

Night had fallen and the camp was packed up. Toga had revived many of the horses the Qin had brought and loaded them up for preparation for the journey to the Chinese coastline and a ferry back to Japan. The Qin soldiers, however, Toga had left dead. A few soldiers from Chu had come to investigate when they had heard of the battle, but seeing Toga was leaving they turned back and did not snoop.

"Will you be alright?" Kagome asked. Ryuichi nodded.

"It will be good to see my homeland again. I fear my welcome here has been worn out," he replied. The man had chosen to return to Japan with Toga, knowing full well what lay in store for him if he returned to Ying Zheng. Toga had accepted him with no hesitation.

"Be careful," Kagome said.

"And you," Ryuichi replied, smiling. He left to help Oinari and another human load up a horse. Kagome turned to see Inuyasha standing behind Toga.

"What's he doing?" Kagome asked, running up to him. In response, Toga took a small box from his robes and opened the lid. The castle before them whirled up into a dust cyclone and spun into the box. Toga snapped it shut and slipped it back into his clothing.

"Our business is concluded here. We leave tonight," he said, turning to Inuyasha and Kagome. "If you return with us to Japan, we shall begin seeking a way to return you home right away."

"Thank you," Kagome nodded. Toga nodded back and turned back to overseeing the camp packing. Kagome sighed and sat down on the grass, turning to face the hill overlooking the sight.

"You think we can find a way back?" she asked, looking up at the hanyou. Inuyasha's face was framed by the green aurora in the sky overhead.

"I hope so," he replied. Kagome lowered her head. The aurora in the sky looked brighter than normal tonight than it had been the last week. The green and blue lit up the ground, giving an eerie glow to the corpses of the Qin on the hill and the blood across the grass. The blades were more red than green, and the ground itself looked on fire.

Kagome gasped and leapt to her feet, turning as Inuyasha walked away towards Yuka.

"Inuyasha!" she cried. "We have to get back to the palace!"

"What, what's going on?" he replied, spinning around.

"Tonight, this is the night we go home!" Kagome explained.

"What do you mean?" Toga asked, the miko's outburst attracting his attention.

"Lady Zhou… a priestess, she told me…we can go home…"

"We can?" Inuyasha asked.

"_When the sky glows green and the ground glows red, the path home shall open,_" Kagome quoted, looking at the hill. Toga and Inuyasha turned to look at the unearthly glow of the bloodstained grass, then up at the aurora in the night sky.

"Son of a bitch," the hanyou muttered.

"You are certain of this?" Toga asked, looking down at Kagome.

"It has to be, even if it's not we have to go and make sure!" Kagome replied. Toga thought for a moment.

"If you are wrong, then you may return with us. If you are correct, I will go with you," he decided.

"Hey," Inuyasha and Kagome turned as Yuka and Oinari approached them. "We'll be seeing you again, if we can," Yuka said, clasping Inuyasha's hand. The hanyou nodded as she went to speak to Kagome behind him. Oinari grinned and threw his arm around Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Gonna miss ya," the kitsune smirked. "Hey, can I ask a question?"

"What?"

"Just as a 'what if', if you can't go back…you think I got a chance with her?" Oinari jerked his thumb towards Kagome. Inuyasha swiped at his head, and Oinari ducked.

"Like hell," he growled. Oinari laughed and wagged his finger.

"If the farewells are aside," Toga muttered. Inuyasha and Kagome turned to each other as Yuka stepped back.

"Kagome, got your bag?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded and turned slightly to show him. "Alright, hop on," he ordered, kneeling.

* * *

Three Qin soldiers cried out as Toga and Inuyasha bounded over the wall of the palace, touching down in the familiar garden.

"We've been spotted," Inuyasha muttered, looking at the guards rushing over the palace walls and down the path towards them. Toga snorted and turned to snarl at the troops.

"Anyone who wishes to die, step forward!" he growled, cracking his knuckles. The soldiers stepped back, and Kagome got down from Inuyasha's back.

"We won't be long!" she groaned. The three walked towards the well in the garden. Neither noticed the doors to the garden open.

"My lord, they have returned!" Li Si hissed. Ying Zheng watched the three from behind them.

"Call off the guards," he said bitterly, turning and leaving. Li Si watched him go in shock, and then gave the signal. The guards slowly stood down.

"This is it," Kagome sighed, looking over the edge of the well. She stood up and faced Toga.

"It was an honor to meet you, sir," she said, bowing. Toga nodded.

"Same to you, Kagome. My son has chosen his woman well," he replied. The two sputtered at his remark, and Toga smirked. His words had the desired effect. That done, he turned to Inuyasha. The hanyou's blush receded and he lowered his head.

"I…I don't wanna say goodbye," Inuyasha admitted. "If I go down that well…I have to, but…I'll be losing you again." Toga was silent for a moment.

"Draw your sword, Inuyasha," he commanded. Inuyasha looked up at Toga and unsheathed Tetsusaiga, the sword glowing in the moonlight. Toga drew his own past version of the blade, and gently touched the flats of the two swords together. Inuyasha watched in awe as the swirls of the two swords promptly began spinning around each other, yellow and red youki auras from their holders mixing in. Toga's hair fluttered slightly as he looked at Inuyasha over the two Tetsusaigas, the blades aglow in a blaze of yellow light.

"I am _always_ with you, my son," he whispered. Inuyasha slowly nodded, and Toga withdrew his sword. The glow vanished immediately, and the two Tetsusaigas returned to their sheathes. The hanyou stared at his father for a moment, and the little pup inside caved. Toga grunted as Inuyasha threw his arms around him, embracing him. With a sigh, Toga closed his eyes and let it slide.

"You have no idea what these last few days have meant to me," Inuyasha said, pulling back.

"I think perhaps I do," Toga replied. Inuyasha nodded and turned to Kagome, taking her hand. Kagome nodded and swung her legs over the lip of the well. Inuyasha sat on the edge, and looked over his shoulder.

"See ya," he whispered. Toga simply nodded, and Inuyasha turned back.

"Ready Kagome?" he asked.

"Let's do it," she agreed. The two took in a breath, and pushed off the wood. The darkness of the bottom of the well rushed towards them, and they tensed. Suddenly, dirt and wood vanished in a sea of sparkling red and green, and Kagome's eyes lit up. Their hands never left as the kaleidoscopic swirls of color flashed past them and eventually receded. Kagome let out a small grunt as their feet touched on solid ground, and wood and dirt walls appeared around them.

"Which time are we in?" she asked, looking up. Inuyasha sniffed and recoiled, lifting the sleeve of his haori to block his nose.

"Yours," he coughed. Kagome nodded, and the hanyou wrapped an arm around her waist and leapt to the top of the well. Kagome let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the well house and ran up the steps to slide the door open.

"We made it," she smiled, looking out over the Tokyo skyline. Inuyasha looked up at the glowing aurora in the sky and nodded.

"Yeah, seems so," he replied.

* * *

The smell of the leaves and bark obscured most of the smells of the city, much to Inuyasha's relief. Kagome had gone straight to her room and to bed the previous night. Her family had been surprised to see her, but Kagome had had to go to school, naturally, so she told them she'd explain it to them when she got home. Inuyasha wasn't sure how much longer that was.

_"Did we change anything?" _he wondered. His father had exposed his charade and he had willingly told him a lot about his life and adventures with Kagome and the others, especially the parts dealing with Sesshomaru and the fates of his swords. Toga had been particularly interested in So'unga, seeing as how his past self hadn't found the sword yet. Inuyasha had told him about it in as little detail as possible, which considering how little he actually knew, wasn't difficult.

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha lowered his head to see Kagome staring up at him from the ground. "Come down here, I wanna talk to you!" Kagome called.

"I'm fine," the hanyou replied.

"Come on!"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Alright then," Kagome huffed. Inuyasha lifted his head and reclined against the trunk with his hands behind his head. There was a thump and a grunt, and Kagome let out a small cry. Inuyasha looked down to see her struggling to pull herself onto a lower branch.

"What the hell are you doing?" he muttered.

"Since you won't come down, I'm coming up," Kagome explained, pulling herself up with a gasp. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sunk a claw into his branch, then swung down and grabbed the back of Kagome's school uniform. She cried out in protest as he swung the both of them up onto the branch.

"I could have gotten up here alone you know," Kagome glared.

"Sure," Inuyasha smirked. The miko took a breath and looked out at Tokyo through the leaves.

"I went to the library at lunch today, did a little research," Kagome started.

"Yeah?"

"There are no official records of any Japanese contact with the Qin at any time during, after or before the Qin Dynasty. No armies, no yaoguai, no dead lord who came back to life. According to the history books, Ying Zheng went on to conquer Chu and founded the Qin Dyntasy."

"Keh, I ain't surprised," Inuyasha snorted. "You think that asswipe would have recorded a loss?"

"I know," Kagome shrugged. "But that's good. I never read anything like that before, so this means we didn't change history. We came out alright."

"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered. Kagome eyed him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Inuyasha took a breath.

"I…" he stopped himself and rolled his eyes.

"Come on," Kagome urged. Inuyasha thought for a moment.

"It's just…I was always jealous of Sesshomaru. I mean, sure he's an ass and he's got an annoying imp for a servant, but…he knew the old man. He fought alongside him, he lived with him, he was…with him."

"And you know what that's like now?"

"Yeah…before I couldn't even remember his face clearly, never had a clue to his name even. Now…he wasn't perfect, considering me and Sesshomaru I guess that's no surprise. But he was my father. And I knew him. Even if he didn't know it for most of the time. I talked to him, I learned from him, fought with him…even if just for a week…" Inuyasha lifted his head and looked up.

"For a single week…I had a father again. I know what Sesshomaru had, what he must have felt. I met the old man and I liked it. I know what that's like now, having someone there for you."

"My dad died when I was little too," Kagome said quietly. "But I had Mama and Grandpa and Sota, even if he was just a baby. He said when he was four, that he hated me, because I knew our father and he was too young to." She shook her head. "But I guess that's not the same. I had a family when my dad died…"

"I know. I had mom, but…she died too,' Inuyasha admitted. "I'll always remember her, but the old man…now I remember him too. It's like he told me, he's still with me," Inuyasha lowered his hand to grasp Tetsusaiga's hilt, repaired and enhanced with his own strength, built up on his father's. "I don't feel so alone."

Kagome smiled as he turned back to the skyline and shifted closer. Inuyasha tensed as she laid her head on his shoulder and reached up to put a hand on his chest.

"You're not alone. Not anymore," she whispered. Inuyasha smiled and brought his hand up to cover hers, relaxing.

"Yeah…I know…"

_fin_

**Final Historical Notes**

**Sometime around the fifth century BC, the royal line of the Zhou Dynasty was greatly weakened. The subsequent kings of Zhou were weak and failed to command respect. True power went to powerful nobles and warlords, and the Zhou ruled in name only. Although this era is recognized today as part of the Zhou Dynasty, it is also addressed as the Warring States Era. During this era, states split into sub-states, made backdoor alliances with each other against other states, and so forth.**

**In 259 BC, the monarch now known as Qin Shi Huang was born in the state of Zhao. His personal name is rendered as either Zhao Zheng, or Ying Zheng. Born into a time when Qin's laws taught that fear, not respect, was the key to ruling a kingdom, Ying Zheng usurped the throne at age 13 to rule under a regent, then ascended to become King of Qin at age 21 in 238 BC. Ying Zheng went on to begin to conquer all the land, conquering the states one by one. After the fall of Chu, his conquest was all but assured, and by 221 BC all enemy states had surrendered or been subjugated. Ying Zheng crowned himself First Emperor of Qin – Shi Huangdi, commonly shortened to Shi Huang due to naming conventions and posthumously prefixed Qin.**

**To consolidate his power, Shi Huangdi destroyed many of the walls and encampments separating China's states and ordered their previous rulers moved to the Qin capitol of Xianyang to be closely observed. Weapons and books were confiscated, and many books were burned with only a single copy remaining in the palace library. Qin's standards for measurement and language became the international standard, and to quell any rebellious thought, many scholars of Confusious were burned, and his teachings outlawed. Shi Huangdi also led campaigns against the northern Xiongnu nomads and built a wall of packed earth to protect the north. This wall is recognized as a dirt and wood precursor to the modern Great Wall of China.**

**As he grew older, Shi Huangdi feared the souls of his enemies, of which he had amassed a great deal, would attack him in the afterlife. To this end he built the Terracotta Army, 6000 clay soldiers as protection for his spirit, and also built a massive underground necropolis for his tomb, burying many of his favorite servants and concubines in it. The room that holds his sarcophagus, so legends say, had the ceiling decorated with diamonds to represent the stars, and the floors filled with mercury to represent China's rivers. Today, although its location has been discovered, the tomb of Shi Huangdi remains sealed, so these legends cannot be proven, although the high concentration of mercury in the nearby soil supports them.**

**However, even this grandeur proved unworthy of Shi Huangdi, and he thus began to search for the Elixir of Life that could bestow immortality. He sent numerous armies to find the Elixir, and it is believed that they settled in China's outskirts, as if they returned without the Elixir they would surely be killed. Shi Huangdi also began to consume mercury in the hopes of prolonging his life – mercury could dissolve gold and it was believed to possess supernatural powers. As his health deteriorated because of this, he became increasingly paranoid and began to sleep in different rooms of the palace each night and had several look-alikes pose as him. Guards were forbidden to carry their weapons around him, or sometimes to even come near him at all. He also began to rave and rant and became a recluse, rejecting all contact but his closest advisors.**

**In 210 BC, Shi Huangdi died while on a journey for the Elixir. His chief advisor, Li Si, had a tray of fish carried in front of the emperor's palanquin to hide the corpse's decaying scent for two months, until they returned to the capitol and announced his death. Following this, Li Si and other high-ranked officials, including eunuch Zhao Gao, forged Shi Huangdi's will to place an easily manipulated king on the throne instead of the rightful heir – Shi Huangdi's youngest son Huhai became his successor. This is a matter of historical debate, as it is believed by some that Shi Huangdi, believing he would live forever, never made a will or selected an heir at all. Whatever the case, Li Si and Zhao Gao reduced the new king Huhai to a figurehead with all the power in their hands. In the years to follow, peasants revolted and rebellion began, and Huhai had many of his siblings killed while others fled the country. Huhai committed suicide himself, and his successor Ziying was named "King of Qin" - Qin no longer ruled all of China, he could not use the title Emperor anymore.**

**Finally, in 206 BC, Ziyang surrendered to Prince Liu Bang of Han, bringing the reign of the Qin – barely fifteen years – crashing down. Liu Bang was crowned the new Emperor of China, took the name Gaozu, and the Han Dynasty was founded. As Emperor, Gaozu replaced Qin Legalism with Confucianism, lowered taxes for peasants, raised taxes on rich merchants, and made peace with the Xiongnu. For these reasons and more, the Han Dynasty became a golden age in Chinese history, especially considering the era preceding it. Emperor Gaozu himself would live until 195 BC.**


End file.
